Abstract
Climate variability and change has caused instability in production and decline in productivity exacerbating food insecurity particularly in Latin America, Africa including Ethiopia and some parts of Asia. The magnitude and frequency of extreme climatic events are projected to increase. The effects of these climatic changes will become even more pronounced among small scale farmers whose farming activities are weather dependent and vulnerable to climate change, and already affected by environmental degradation and socio-economic risks. Effective adaptation to climate change among small scale farmers is therefore of critical importance and is dependent on the adoption of climate-smart practices. However, studies have shown low adoption of climate-smart farming practices among small scale farmers world over, in East Hararghe Zone and Kurfa Chele District. This study, therefore, examined factors influencing adoption of climate-smart practices among farmers Kurfa Chele District, East Hararghe Zone, evaluated their existing knowledge, attitude and practice of these practices, assessed their perception of climate change, examined the extent of climate information dissemination, and the resultant impact on the uptake of these practices. The research adopted a survey research design, where both quantitative and qualitative research strategies were used. Data was gathered through Focus Group Discussions, questionnaires, key informant interviews, observations and a desk review. Both simple random and purposive sampling was used to sample 420 small scale farmers and technical officers of the agriculture sector respectively. Data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. To test the statistical significance of the findings and relationships between the variables, the chi-square test was used
Highlights
1.1. 1.1 Background of the StudyThe agriculture sector is vital in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and supports livelihoods of close to 1.5 billion people worldwide living in smallholder households in rural areas (World Bank, 2008)
The study was guided by the following research questions; a)How is the perception of climatic change risks and their impacts on farming among small scale farmers influencing adoption of CSPs of studies area?
In spite of the emerging appreciation of climate change concern, there were still other farmers, who still held the belief that the area was humid with adequate rainfall from both long rain and short rain seasons according to Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
Summary
1.1. 1.1 Background of the StudyThe agriculture sector is vital in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and supports livelihoods of close to 1.5 billion people worldwide living in smallholder households in rural areas (World Bank, 2008). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007b) affirmed climate change occurrence and has projected further change and upsurge in the mean climate characteristics This is likely to cause more severe effects on agriculture that has already registered instability in production, decreases in crop yield and livestock productivity. This will subsequently enhance hunger among millions of people worldwide, in Latin America, Small Island States, Africa and some parts of Asia. In response to effects of vagaries of weather attributed to climate change in Kurfa chele district, climate smart practices( CSPs) have been disseminated for several decades In spite of these efforts, adoption of CSPs has remained low among small scale farmers Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP, 2014)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
