Responses of sub-Saharan smallholders to climate change: Strategies and drivers of adaptation

Abstract

Rural farm households in sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable to climate variability due to their limited adaptive capacity. This paper explores how adaptation strategies are adopted by small-holders in sub-Saharan Africa as a function of their adaptive capacity. The latter is characterised by five types of capital: natural, physical, financial, human, and social. We use responses from farm households in sub-Saharan Africa dating from 1536 obtained by Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). This data provides information on the adoption of adaptation practices during the study period as well as information with which we develop indicators for the five types of capital. The results suggest that all the five types of capital positively influence adoption of adaptation practices. Human and social capital both displayed a positive and significant effect on the uptake of most adaptation practices. This finding suggests that the effect of less tangible kinds of capital such as knowledge, individual perceptions, farmers’ networks and access to information may be stronger than normally assumed. Directing more development policies towards enhancing human and social capital may therefore be more cost-effective than further investments into physical and financial capital, and could help in overcoming social barriers to adaptation to climate change.