Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish the association between smallholder farmer perceptions toward climate change and adaptation strategies at the household level in Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 284 households mainly using a structured questionnaire. The Heckman probit selection model was used to first identify the underlying socio-economic factors that affect households’ recognition of climate change in the past 10 years, and the second model the factors that influence adaptation to the climate change phenomenon. Findings The majority of farmers (85 percent) perceived that climate change, characterized by rising temperatures and variability in rainfall patterns, has been occurring in the past ten years. As a response, farmers adapted using methods such as manuring and staggering of planting dates. Indigenous knowledge systems and non-governmental organizations increased the likelihood farmers’ recognition of climate change (p<0.05). The probability of adopting multiple adaptation strategies was influenced by household head’s education level, land tenure and access to public extension services. Practical implications Integrative extension methods that take into account socio-cultural values could be helpful in building resilience as farmers are better able to understand the climate change construct. There is a need to guarantee land tenure rights in resettlement areas to stimulate investment on farms. Originality/value This study showed that there is a link between farmers’ prior knowledge of climate change and the number of adaptive investments. The analysis proposed an educational and extension approach that is embedded in the socio-cultural and traditional setting of farmers.

Climate change and extreme weather conditions remain major threats to the attainment of well-being outcomes such as food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, it is critical to identify and promote resilient value chains in order to ensure food security in the wave of extreme weather conditions such as drought. This study seeks to evaluate the effects of participating in indigenous chicken markets on smallholder farmers’ food and nutrition security in terms of household dietary diversity score. Cross-sectional data collected from 215 randomly selected farmers in Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts, Zimbabwe was used in this study. The endogenous treatment effect model was employed to determine the effects of market participation on household dietary diversity score. The findings showed that 76% of interviewed farmers participated in indigenous chicken markets. On average, participating in indigenous chicken markets increases the likelihood of having a higher household dietary diversity score by about 60%. This suggests that engagement in indigenous chicken value chain strengthens smallholder farmers’ resilience through attainment of food and nutrition security. Therefore, investment in capacity building of smallholder farmers to engage in indigenous chicken value chains should be prioritised and to support market engagement, indigenous chicken production contract arrangements with private firms should be promoted.