Smallholder farmers' perception and coping mechanisms towards climate change

Introduction

Climate change is one of the most urgent and complexchallenges for all countries in the world that directlyinfluences the food supply and livelihoods of billionsof people (Giddens, 2009). It is one of the biggestenvironmental challenges that bring changes inweather patterns that can have serious repercussionsfor all of us, modifying seasonal cycles, harmingecosystems and water supply, affecting agriculturalfarming systems and food production, causing sealevels to rise (Hassan, 2010; Corner et al., 2012).

Even though climate change is a global challenge, thepoor developing African countries are generallyrecognized to be the most vulnerable to climatechange due to their low level of adaptive capabilities(Niang et al., 2014). The livelihoods of millions ofpeople who are poor and susceptible are presentlythreatened by Climate change which alters the naturaland physical resources they depend on (Mesfin andBekele, 2018). It threatens various sectors ofeconomic development including natural resources,agriculture, food security, tourism, manufacturing,and health (Clifton, 2017). For these countries,agriculture is the most important sector whichcontributes more than 60% of employees and coversan average of 40% of the GDPs of the region (NASAC,2015). Even though agriculture is an essentialcomponent of their social well-being, especially forsmallholder farmers' (holders of <2 ha of farm plots),climate change has complicated the overall well-beingof the societies which results in poverty, foodinsecurity, low productivity, loss of biodiversity,ecosystem disturbance, poor health status and severdeath (Below et al., 2010; Zerga et al., 2016). 

Like in the other African countries, agriculture is thefoundation of the Ethiopian economy, accounting forabout 43% of national GDP, generating 90% offoreign exchange earnings, and employing more than80% of the population (IMF, 2012). It is also themajor source of food for the population and the primecontributing sector to food security. However, thesector is mostly dominated by small-scale mixedcrop-livestock production with very low productivitydue to several factors. The major factors responsiblefor low productivity include reliance on traditionalfarming techniques, soil degradation caused byovergrazing and deforestation, poor complimentaryservices such as extension, credit, marketing,infrastructure, and climatic factors such as droughtand flood (Deressa et al., 2011). Among other factors,climate change is one of the most seriousenvironmental threats that adversely affectagricultural production and productivity in mostparts of Ethiopia (Temesgen et al., 2014) includingthe study area. Even though agriculture is thefoundation of the Ethiopian economy, theproductivity, and competitiveness of this sector areincreasingly constrained by the temporal and spatialvariability of climate change (Mahoo et al., 2013). Thecountry's agriculture is one of the most vulnerablesectors to current climatic variability and projectedclimate change, potentially exposing millions ofpeople to recurrent food shortages and episodicfamines (NMA, 2007). Climate change imposesconstraints on development, especially amongsmallholder farmers whose livelihoods mostly dependon rain-fed agriculture (IPCC, 2007; Saguye, 2017).This is due to their dependence on rain-fed smallscale mixed crop and livestock production with loweconomic development, limited disaster managementskills, weak institutional capacity, and low adaptivecapacity (Boko et al., 2007; Gebreegziabher et al.,2011). It affects agriculture in several ways; includingthrough changes in average temperatures; rainfalland climate extremes with an important impact onsoil erosion (i.e. floods, drought, etc): changes inpests and diseases, change in the productivity of cropsand livestock, changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide,changes in the nutritional quality of some foods,changes in the growing season, and changes in sealevel (NMA, 2007).

For countries like Ethiopia, whose livelihoodoccupation of the nation is mainly based onsubsistence agriculture that is highly relied onrainfall, it is important to understand climate changechallenges, especially amongst smallholder farmers'since agriculture is an essential component of their social well-being. For these agricultural-dependentvulnerable groups, even minor climate changes canhave disastrous impacts on their lives and livelihoods.In addition to this, currently, smallholder farmers inrural areas have been facing low agriculturalproductivity, crop failure, human disease outbreak,pest and diseases, lack of water, shortages ofagricultural-based food items at a household level,and food insecurities in many parts of the countryincluding the study area.

Since climate change variability negatively affectscrop yield and livestock productivity that threatensfood security for smallholder farmers, there is anurgent need to identify approaches that strengthenthe adaptive capacity of smallholders and enhancetheir ability to respond to climate change in asustainable way. Hence, understanding smallholderfarmers' perceptions and coping mechanisms forextreme climate change and its significant impacts oncrop and livestock production are crucial to designingand implementing appropriate adaptation strategiesto climate change and variability to improvesustainable agricultural productivity (Muller, 2013;Thornton and Herrero, 014).

Moreover, the efforts made by the farmers to copewith the changing climate at the local level are mostlyunorganized and influenced by a set of factors thatneeds a well-integrated and holistic approach to theentire system of the agriculture sector to make it lesssensitive to climate change impact. To narrow thisgap, there are no appropriate research worksconducted on farmers' perceptions and copingmechanisms towards climate change in the studyarea. Hence, this study was designed to assesssmallholder farmers' perceptions and copingmechanisms towards climate changes in the mixedfarming system in selected Woreda of Hadiya Zone