Farm households' perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change risks and their determinants: Evidence from Raya Azebo district, Ethiopia

Ethiopia's agriculture is facing significant challenges of climate change and associated hazards. Farm-level adaptation could serve as an important tool to manage these production risks. This study took the case of a vulnerable farming community of Raya Azebo district of Tigray region of Ethiopia to map household level perceptions of climate change and its induced risks, adaptation strategies, and associated factors. A multi-stage sampling approach is used to select a sample of 397 farm households from the study area and analyzed using descriptive and interferential statistics. Results show that farm households perceived significant changes in the climate, such as an increase in temperature (overall), a decline in precipitation (overall), and altering patterns of rainfall. Further, farmers' reported risks include droughts, floods, and increased pests and disease attacks on the crops. Farmers, in response to climate variability, were adopting various adaptation measures to manage climate risks at the farm-level. Crop diversification (99%), mulching (88%), soil and water management practices (78%), and use of alternative tillage practices (74%) were reported to be the most, while the use of improved seed (27%), planting trees (26%), mixed farming (12%), and home farm practice (3%) were reported to be the least adopted adaptation strategies. Results of the binary logit model showed that household head's age, literacy level, utilization of credit service, utilization of extension services, and access to farm water were the significant determinants of important adaptation strategies. This study implies improving rural households' access to various institutions-led services (i.e., climate information, advisory, and credit) to improve their adaptation and livelihood resilience.

Automated summary

The study shows that agriculture in Ethiopia is facing significant challenges from climate change, with farmers adopting various adaptation strategies to manage climate risks. Changes in temperature, precipitation, and rainfall patterns have been perceived by farm households, leading to adoption of measures such as crop diversification, mulching, and soil and water management to cope with the changing climate conditions.