Rural Smallholder Maize Farmers’ Adaptation and Coping Strategies to Climate Change in Thota-Moli, Maseru District, Lesotho

Abstract

This paper examined factors that affect smallholder maize farmers’ coping and adaptation strategies to climate change in Thota-Moli communal area in Maseru District in Lesotho. The study surveyed 70 respondents who were selected randomly from five villages using a structured questionnaire. The adaptation strategy index, descriptive statistics and the binary logistic regression model were utilised to analyse the data. The farmers ranked crop diversification and use of drought resistant varieties as the most useful adaptation strategies. The binary logit model results revealed that access to weather information, distance to input market, access to extension services, level of education and financing on-farm activities affect farmers’ decision to cope with or adapt to effects of climate change. Hence, this study recommends that policy reforms should be guided by these socio-economic factors when developing strategies to expand the opportunities available for increased use of coping and adaptation strategies within rural farming communities.