Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia

Abstract

The agricultural sector remains the main source of livelihood for rural communities in Ethiopia, but the challenge of changing climate continues to pose a serious threat to its development. This study investigated factors affecting smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt adaptation options to climate change in West Ethiopia using data collected from 400 sampled households. The Rainfall Satisfaction Index and Multinomial Logit Model were used to analyze farmers’ exposure to climate variability and factors that shape farmers' adaptation strategies. The findings of the study showed that the majority of farmers are experiencing high exposure to climate change both in terms of variable rainfall and rising temperature. In response, to adapt to the impact of climate change farmers were participating in agronomic practices, livelihood diversification, soil and water conservation, and small-scale irrigation as the dominant adaptation options. It is also observed that adopting agronomic practices was significantly impacted by social capital, crop failure experience, and access to early warning. Gender of the household, education, and livestock ownership were found to have a negative relationship with livelihood diversification. The study further revealed that soil and water conservation measures are positively affected by perception of temperature increment, exposure to early warning systems, and larger size of cultivated land. In addition, the adoption of small-scale irrigation was significantly influenced by access to credit, social capital, and the educational status of household heads. Consequently, the result implies that programs and policies designed to curb the calamities of climate change should emphasize creating effective early warning systems to increase farmer awareness, reach farmers with effective microfinance institutions, and encourage farmers’ ties to many social cooperatives.