Mitigating and Adapting to Water Shortage: A Case Study of Women Small-scale Farmers in Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract: The thesis is a qualitative case study of women small-scale farmers in Morogoro, Tanzania. The research explores how women small-scale farmers experience water shortages, their mitigation and adaptation strategies, and what the implications of these are. The theoretical framework used is intersectional ecofeminism, the gendered division of labour, and the concepts of mitigation and adaptation. During a field study in Morogoro in 2023, semi-structured interviews were used to understand what factors shape the experiences of water shortages among women small-scale farmers, and if/what strategies they use to handle or overcome water shortages. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify repeating themes in the empirical material. A key finding was that the experiences of water shortages are highly gendered, intersecting with capital and geography as well, to create a complex network that also effectively affects the use of mitigation and adaptation strategies. However, the study found that only one mitigation strategy was used among the respondents. The thesis concludes that it is important to make visible the gendered aspects of water shortages, as the factors that shape the experience also inhibit adaptive capacity.