Climate Change Adaptation Measures and Constraints among Smallholder Food Crop Farmers in Sayo and Dale Sedi District, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: In contemporary world food crop production is under pressure due to change in climate. In developing nation climate change is a treat both in food crop production and food security. Analysing farmers’ climate change adaptation measures and understanding the barriers provides clear guidance to address constraints that impede food crop producers’ adaptation. Methods: A stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 200 food crop producers for primary data gathering. The multinomial logit model was used to determine the factors that affect the selection of adaptation measures to climate change and factor analysis was used to identify factors that impede food crop producers’ ability to adapt to climate change. Result: The result of the multinomial logit model shows that various socio-economic factors (family size, education, climate change awareness, farming experience, nonfarm income, farm size, distance to farmland, extension services and access to credit) influence farmers’ choices regarding climate change adaptation strategies in the study area. The result of the varimax rotate principal component analysis found four factors that are detrimental to food crop producers in adapting to climate change. These principal constraints are institution and government, technology and inputs, information and knowledge and belief, culture and participation as factors that hinder farmers from adapting to climate change. Thus, there is room for government and development partners to strengthen the adaptive capacities of farmers by resolving problems related to institutions, government policy, technology, inputs availability and information regarding climate change to minimize the potential impact and loss in the future.