Application of Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) in Assessing Smallholder Tobacco Farmers’ Vulnerability to Climate Change in Zimbabwe’s Four Major Tobacco Growing Provinces

The study collected primary data from 700 Zimbabwean small-scale tobacco farmers between March and July 2024 and only 667 1 responses had complete information which was appropriate for analysis, while secondary data covering the period 1980 to 2024 was also used.The main objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the livelihood vulnerability to climate change effects on smallholder tobacco farmers or households; (ii) identify the primary causes of the vulnerability; and (ii) suggest practical and policy measures to address and lessen the vulnerability of livelihood systems to weather and CC.The analysis employed the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) methodology.The empirical results show that Manicaland (MN) province tobacco farming households were found to be more vulnerable to climate change, as indicated by the overall LVI computed from the major components, which showed an index of 0.449, while Mashonaland Central (MC), Mashonaland East (ME) and Mashonaland West (MW) indices were 0.424; 0.416 and 0.412, respectively.Additionally, the LVI-IPCC index showed that tobacco farming households in MC were more vulnerable with an index of -0.006 whereas the indices for the other three provinces were -0.013 (MC), -0.007 (ME) and -0.027 (MW).The study's findings demonstrated that Zimbabwe's four tobacco growing provinces are experiencing climate change, and that this phenomenon is negatively affecting households that cultivate tobacco.The research recommends the following: First, MN province should be prioritised by the government, development partners and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) when it comes to the allocation of incomegenerating and food security projects.Second, in order to improve water supply, availability, and shorten the time it takes to fetch water from the source, the MW province's water supply needs to be improved and this can be done by drilling more boreholes.Third, smallholder households across the four provinces of MN, MC, ME and MW that grow tobacco should be informed about the dangers of impending natural disasters like floods, droughts, and pests by the provincial assemblies, meteorological agencies, and other nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).Lastly, it is imperative to develop indicators that track the potential effects of climate change on the livelihoods of tobacco farming households, given their moderate levels of vulnerability to both climate variability and change.