Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This systematic review focuses on the relationship between the factors of adaptation strategies and the impact of climate change among farmers in Southeast Asia. Climate change, a phenomenon that occurs over many years, has affected the lives of farmers in the agricultural sector. Therefore, it is essential to analyse the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to determine their ability to adapt to climate change and maintain their livelihoods. As such, the present study examines farmers’ understanding of climate change and its impact on adaptation strategies in Southeast Asia. Approximately 15 related studies were found based on a systematic review of the repositories from Scopus and the Web of Sciences using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Hence, the paper delineates five key themes: (1) sociodemographic factors, (2) physical capital, (3) assistance, (4) information, and (5) social networking. Therefore, the results underlining the determinant factors, such as income, household members, farm size, land, number of workers, access to information, education, experiences, training, support from agencies, and social networks, influence the adaptation strategies among Southeast Asian farmers. This systematic review study emphasises information accessibility, education, training, and income as the most important factors for developing adaptation strategies for farmers to deal with climate change, rather than programme, internet usage, relatives, and the number of workers. Finally, combining the main factors can promote technological advancement for farmers who rely on agriculture as their main source of income and help farmers deal with climate variability to sustain their livelihood.