International Day of Rural Women

Growing up in Tanzania, pilau was always a dish of joy in my family, fragrant rice filled with spices and shared at gatherings. Every plate carried more than flavour; it carried the story of the farmers who work tirelessly in the fields. Over time, I became more aware of the fragility of their livelihoods. Droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and declining soil fertility often reduce their harvests. What concerned me most was the reality that these challenges do not affect everyone equally. Women, landless farmers, and other vulnerable groups are often excluded from resources and decision-making, making them more exposed to climate shocks. Witnessing these inequities shaped my research interest: exploring how fairness is addressed in drought adaptation strategies and how these strategies impact the most vulnerable rice farmers.

My academic path reflects this passion. I began with a degree in Actuarial Statistics, which allowed me to analyze complex data and understand patterns. I am now pursuing a master’s in project management and Evaluation, which equips me to design, monitor, and assess development projects. Together, these skills enable me to ask critical questions about adaptation: who benefits, who is left out, and how these choices shape the future of farming communities.

Rice is central to Tanzania’s food system and daily life. It is the second most important crop after maize and a staple for millions of households. In the 2022/23 season, farmers harvested over one million hectares of rice, producing about 2.4 million tons. Average yields were only 2.2 tons per hectare, although this varied from less than one tonne in some regions to more than four tons in the best performing areas (Discover Agriculture, 2025). There has been some progress. For example, under the TANRICE2 programme, yields rose by 40 percent in seven years, from 3.2 to 4.5 tons per hectare (The Citizen, 2020). Yet many farmers, especially those relying on rainfed systems, still use traditional varieties that yield only 1.5 to 2.5 tonnes per hectare and are highly vulnerable to drought (IRRI, 2024). When climate shocks strike, these households are left with little income, food insecurity, and fewer options to recover. The burden is not shared equally. A study in Mbarali District found that 78 percent of men participated in multiple rice production tasks compared to only 49 percent of women. A larger proportion of women were confined to low participation roles, while very few reached high participation levels (FAO, 2021). This shows how unequal access to land, credit, and decision-making limits women’s ability to benefit from rice farming, even though they are central to production.

As a CERA scholar, I aim to place equity at the heart of climate adaptation strategies. I will focus on making the barriers women face in accessing irrigation, drought-tolerant seeds, and climate information visible. Highlighting these disparities allows us to design strategies that enable women to participate fully and share fairly in the benefits of climate-smart rice farming. When women thrive, entire households and communities become more resilient. On climate change adaptation and mitigation, I study how different farmer groups adopt practices such as improved water management, soil conservation, and new rice varieties. I am interested in how these innovations are distributed, because leaving the most vulnerable behind weakens overall resilience. Many of these practices also contribute to mitigation by promoting resource efficient and environmentally friendly farming methods.

Being part of the CERA project is both a professional step and a personal commitment. I look forward to learning from the scientists at IRRI, working alongside fellow scholars, and engaging with rice farming communities to understand their lived experiences. I want to strengthen my ability to translate research into practical recommendations that can influence policy and practice. Most importantly, I hope to ensure that the benefits of climate-smart rice production reach those often excluded, especially women and marginalised groups.

I imagine a future where rice farming in Africa is resilient, fair, and environmentally sustainable. A future where farmers, regardless of gender or status, are equipped not just to survive climate shocks but to thrive. A future where every grain of rice, whether in pilau at a celebration or in a simple family meal, reflects resilience, fairness, and dignity. For me, being a CERA scholar is not simply about academic achievement. It is a pledge to champion equity, sustainability, and a better future for farmers in Tanzania and across Africa.

I was raised in Ruvuma, a region in southern Tanzania, where my mother has been cultivating maize on our family farm, located 22 km from our home. Like many women farmers in East Africa, she faced recurring challenges from unpredictable rainfall and limited access to reliable weather information. Most of the time, she relied on indigenous knowledge to decide when to plant a practice that, given today’s shifting climate patterns, often felt like a gamble. These uncertainties frequently result in low yields and unstable household income. Witnessing her navigate these struggles inspired me to pursue a career in agricultural research, with a strong focus on climate change adaptation and rural livelihoods.

Over the past two years, I have been privileged to contribute to regional projects such as Enhancing Climate Resilience in East Africa (ECREA) and Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African Bean and Insect Vectors (BRAINS). Both initiatives underscored the critical role of ensuring that women, youth, and persons with disabilities have timely access to weather and climate information. Through this work, I witnessed how empowering vulnerable groups with knowledge strengthens decision-making, improves resilience, and ensures that they benefit more equitably from agricultural innovations. These experiences taught me that while technologies and improved practices are essential, true transformation in African agriculture also requires addressing inequities that prevent women and youth from realizing their full potential.

As a Climate-smart and Eco-friendly Rice for Africa (CERA) PhD scholar, my study will focus on strengthening the resilience and inclusivity of rice farming systems in East Africa. Specifically, I am interested in understanding how inequities within the rice value chain, particularly those affecting gender groups (with special lens of women farmers), shape the adoption of climate-smart practices and influence household livelihood outcomes. This aligns closely with the CERA project’s vision of promoting climate-resilient, eco-friendly, and socially just rice systems in Africa.

Rice is central to food security in Tanzania and Kenya. In Tanzania, rice accounts for about 17–21% of total grain or cereal production and is cultivated by over one million households, making it central to both food security and income generation (Lyanga, 2025). Extreme climate events, including droughts and floods, significantly reduce rice yields in Tanzania like any other country in our region and globe at large. Studies show that such events can cause yield losses ranging from 25% to over 70% in severe cases, with some Tanzanian floodplain farmers reporting losses of 50–100% during extreme floods (Mwakyusa et al., 2023; Akpa, 2024). Tackling these challenges is more than about productivity; it is about reducing vulnerability and promoting equity along rice value chains. My work aligns with CERA’s goals by exploring climate-smart practices that build resilience while promoting sustainable, low-emission rice systems.

I will actively engage women-led households and youth groups in rice-farming communities, for co-developing participatory approaches that reflect their realities. This will not only strengthen inclusivity but also ensure that the isolated groups’ voices shape the design and adoption of adaptation strategies.

Under CERA’s climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, my research will analyze how different climate-smart rice practices perform under variable conditions, considering both costs and benefits along rice value chains. By generating evidence on which practices are most effective and feasible for smallholders, I hope to inform strategies that are value chain node specific that reduce climate risks while supporting the sustainability of actors regardless of their gender groups and other socioeconomic aspects.

The agriculture sector in Tanzania employs about 65% of the population, with rice also identified as a strategic crop for national and regional food security (Basungu, 2023). Yet gender groups like women farmers face systemic barriers: less than 20% of women own land, and fewer than 15% have access to formal credit (Awoke et al., 2025). At the same time, rice yields average just 2.2 tons per hectare, far below the potential of 6–7 tons under improved management (Kwesiga et al., 2020; Mboyerwa et al., 2022). Bridging these gaps requires not only technical innovations but also institutional reforms that ensure these gender groups, like women and youth, can actively participate and benefit in the face of climate-related risks.

In regions which experience extreme weather phenomenon such as Morogoro in Tanzania and Mwea in Kenya, the stakes are even higher. Farmers in these areas are already grappling with shorter and less predictable rainy seasons, sudden floods, and rising production costs. Without deliberate action, these challenges threaten not only household welfare but also national food security. Addressing them requires climate-smart and gender-responsive solutions that enable farmers, especially women, to adapt, build resilience, and sustain their livelihoods.

Finally, as an ambitious CERA scholar, receiving this scholarship is both a personal milestone and a responsibility. I look forward to engaging deeply with rice smallholder farmers, particularly different gender groups of weather-extreme regions areas of Tanzania and Kenya and learning from their lived experiences. In working with CERA’s diverse network of partners, I also see this as an opportunity to grow into a researcher and/or academician who can bridge science and community realities, by disseminating the contextualized research findings, hence making rice systems not only climate-resilient but also socially just and equitable.