The impact of climate change to livelihood vulnerability for smallholders farmers in Wonogiri, Indonesia

Abstract

Climate change has affected human life, especially farmers in rural areas. Their livelihoods are very dependent on the climate so that their socio-economic life becomes vulnerable. If there is a risk of crop failure, the community becomes vulnerable to poverty and hunger. This study determines the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders in Wonogiri District, Indonesia. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents in the sub-districts of Girimarto, Eromoko, and Tirtomoyo. The number of respondents was 120 households which were selected for farmers who only own less than 2 hectares of land. Descriptive statistics and modified social vulnerability index (SoVI) were used in data analysis. We measured the level of vulnerability for economic and social. The results show that climate change to social vulnerability index with SoVI scores of 0.68 for Tirtomoyo, 0.61 for Girimarto, and 0.55 for Eromoko, respectively. The differences in components between the three sample areas include regional gross domestic product (GDRP), poverty rate, population density, population growth rate, sex ratio, children, and elderly. The results of the study conclude that climate change has the potential to cause poverty levels in the three sub-districts to increase. In terms of resilience, they are quite resilient because they do not depend on government assistance. However, when climate change causes continuous crop failure, the level of resilience of farmers will also decline.