"Climate change is killing us," says Andrew Chikwanda.

He could scarcely put it more bluntly.

It is his first day as acting director of Kahama District in Tanzania, but his biggest challenge is obvious.

Rain does still fall on these vast plains – sometimes too hard – but it does so less regularly and much more randomly than before.

Helping farmers adapt to climate change is the goal of a new Oxfam project, funded by the Scottish Government.

The dangers of not doing so are clear and present. Parts of Shinyanga are now "food insecure" for the first time, which means people are going hungry.

It is a worrying new reality created not by the actions of the area's rice farmers, but in part by the polluting industries and lifestyles of developed countries thousands of miles away – including Scotland.

Farmers like those in Shinyanga are feeling the full force of climate change. They can no longer plant with confidence that the rains will come, and rice, after all, depends on water.

They face a cruel gamble – even a short drought can kill their crops entirely.

After a day in the fields, Exaveria Sangijo from Chela Village, explains: "When there is plenty of water we produce enough but when there is a shortage of rains we don't produce that much.

"We depend on the rain – we want it to continue. If it is the factories that are contributing they [developed countries] should do whatever it takes to ensure the rains keep coming."

Ms Sangijo is one of thousands of farmers linked to the £1.3m Scottish Government-funded project, now six months old.

As he travels to run a training session, Paul Seni, a project officer from one of Oxfam's local partners, taps his temple gently: "First we tackle the software," he says, "then comes the hardware."

Boosting understanding of why the climate is changing and how to respond is the key first stage. Farmers, used to working as individuals, are joining groups and are trained together. They learn how to produce good seedlings and care for their crop to maximise returns. In a nearby field, 20 bare-foot farmers are ankle deep in mud as they work side-by-side to plant seedlings.

"Not there – behind the lines," Mr Seni shouts. Careful spacing will help give bigger harvests, but improved techniques alone will not secure crops.

Building new earth dams to trap rain is a crucial innovation. From them, a vast network pumps life into otherwise barren land. It means that for these farmers rice can be a cash crop as well as a crucial food.

As income goes up so too does access to health and education, both key to a stable future.

In the village of Bulugala, Christopher Masengwa opens the heavy iron door of a new warehouse which lets farmers store their crops after harvest when prices slump. They can then sell when prices rise.

But Mr Masengwa's footsteps create a worrying echo. "This year there are few bags of rice," he says. "There was not enough rain."

New technology could offer some protection.

At a nearby research centre Dr Geophrey Kajiru proudly holds a strain of rice needing less water that is being tested for use in Tanzania. "You don't need standing water like conventional rice," says Dr Kajiru.

Tanzania has the potential to be a key food producer in East Africa, which is still recovering from the food crisis of 2011 that hit 13 million people, sparked in part by poor rainfall,

The Scottish Government-funded project in Tanzania is helping to build resilience – before new disaster strikes.

Ms Sangijo says: "Our lives are improving. I used to live in a grass thatched house, now I have constructed a brick house. Now I can take my children to school. I request the Government of Scotland continue supporting this project – it is benefiting us. We are so grateful."

Jamie Livingstone works for Oxfam Scotland. He has just returned from Tanzania.