Farmers Perception on Climate Change and Determinants of Adaptation Strategies in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State of Ethiopia

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change involves changes in agricultural technologies in particular and management practices in general to reduce its risk and effects. To minimize the losses due to climate change factors, farmers have employed different climate change adaptation strategies. Consequently, this study examines farmer adaptation strategies to climate change in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State of Ethiopia based on a cross-section data of three representative zones of Assosa, Kamashi zones and Mao-komo special district. The study describes the perceptions of smallholder farmers to changes in climate change indicators and adaptation measures at the farm household level using multivariate discrete choice model to identify the determinants of adaptation strategies. The econometric model has showed that households demographic factors, resources endowments (land, labor, livestock), institutional factors (access to extension services, cooperative membership and access to credit) are some of the important determinants of farm-level adaptation. The policy implication from our finding is that improving access to credit, production factors (like land, labor) enhancing the bargaining power of smallholder farmers can significantly increase farm-level adaptation to climate change. Moreover, adopting different improved crop varieties have showed better yield gains than non-adopters. Thus, policies and strategies should focus at research and development on appropriate technologies that help smallholder farmers’ adaptation capacity to climate changes hereby varietal development, appropriate agronomic recommendations, pre-extension demonstration and popularization of improved cultivars and promoting appropriate farm-level adaptation measures such as use of irrigation technologies.