An Examination on the Effects of Climate Change and Household Food Security Situation: Case Study of Kanakatapa, Chongwe District, Lusaka

Climate Change is posing a crisis at a global scale, the earth's climate system has been rendered compromised due to long-term alterations in temperatures, wind patterns, and increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is slowly culminating in threatening food security. These extreme weather conditions are disrupting agricultural productivity, food distribution, and access to nutrition the above challenges necessitated the need to examine the effects of climate change on household food security. The study explored the following objectives I. To establish the effect of climate change on household food security. ii. To examine the effectiveness of mitigation measures on climate change at household food security, iii. To determine limitations on household food security brought by climate change. The study used a mixed method of data collection, the survey utilized in-house structured questionnaires containing both qualitative and quantitative questioning. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select a representative sample of households. In the first stage, clusters of households were randomly selected within the target area, and second stage, households were randomly chosen from within each cluster. The sample size for this study was 138 of the participants but due to the unavailability of respondents, the number was reduced to 70. Questionnaires were cross-checked after each day of data collection to ensure the correctness and completeness of the collected data. Data was then entered into a computer program called (SPSS). Our Findings revealed that climate change significantly disrupts agricultural productivity at the household level, leading to increased food prices, scarcity, nutritional deficiencies, and heightened vulnerability, particularly in rural communities like Kanakatapa. Households reported a major decrease in crop yield due to erratic weather patterns and shifting planting season. Our Recommendation included the implementation of adaptive smart agricultural practices such as the promotion of local food systems, crop diversification, agroforestry practices, community gardening, and climate-resilient crops. Policy initiatives should focus on improved infrastructure and access to resources for vulnerable populations, ensuring that food security strategies are integrated with climate adaption efforts that are tailor-suited to local communities. The study underscored the urgent need for multi- faceted intervention to mitigate the effects and impacts of climate change on food security at the household level.