Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa

Adapting to climate risks is central to the goal of increasing food security and enhancing resilience of farming systems in East Africa. We examined farmers’ attitudes and assessed determinants of adaptation using data from a random sample of 500 households in Borana, Ethiopia, Nyando, Kenya, Hoima...

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Autores principales: Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia, Winowiecki, Leigh Ann, Twyman, Jennifer, Eitzinger, Anton, Pérez, Juan Guillermo, Mwongera, Caroline, Läderach, Peter R.D.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80194
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author Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Winowiecki, Leigh Ann
Twyman, Jennifer
Eitzinger, Anton
Pérez, Juan Guillermo
Mwongera, Caroline
Läderach, Peter R.D.
author_browse Eitzinger, Anton
Läderach, Peter R.D.
Mwongera, Caroline
Pérez, Juan Guillermo
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Twyman, Jennifer
Winowiecki, Leigh Ann
author_facet Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Winowiecki, Leigh Ann
Twyman, Jennifer
Eitzinger, Anton
Pérez, Juan Guillermo
Mwongera, Caroline
Läderach, Peter R.D.
author_sort Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Adapting to climate risks is central to the goal of increasing food security and enhancing resilience of farming systems in East Africa. We examined farmers’ attitudes and assessed determinants of adaptation using data from a random sample of 500 households in Borana, Ethiopia, Nyando, Kenya, Hoima Uganda, and Lushoto, Tanzania. Adaptation was measured using a livelihood-based index that assigned weights to different individual strategies based on their marginal contributions to a household’s livelihood. Results showed that farmers’ attitudes across the four sites strongly favored introduction of new crops, changes in varieties, and changes in planting times. Farmers disfavored soil, land, and water management practices. At lower levels of adaptation (25% quantile), adaptation index correlated positively with membership to farmers’ groups, household size, sex of the household, and number of months of food shortage. Membership to farmers’ groups enhanced adaptation at intermediate (50% quantile) level whereas access to credit increased adaptation at high (75% quantile) level. Food insecurity, however, correlated negatively with the likelihood to choose individual adaptation strategies suggesting that although households adapted to improve food security status of their households, hunger was a barrier to adaptation. Our findings suggest that providing climate information to inform timely planting, promoting crop diversification, and encouraging adoption of adapted varieties of crops might be successful to enhancing resilience of farming systems in the short-term. In the long-term, increased investment in reducing hunger, encouraging groups formation, and easing liquidity constraints will be required to promote adaptation through implementation of soil, water, and land management strategies
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spelling CGSpace801942025-03-13T09:44:11Z Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia Winowiecki, Leigh Ann Twyman, Jennifer Eitzinger, Anton Pérez, Juan Guillermo Mwongera, Caroline Läderach, Peter R.D. livelihood climate change climate risks smallholders farming systems land management water management soils management food security medios de vida cambio climático sistemas de explotación ordenación de tierras ordenación de aguas manejo del suelo seguridad alimentaria Adapting to climate risks is central to the goal of increasing food security and enhancing resilience of farming systems in East Africa. We examined farmers’ attitudes and assessed determinants of adaptation using data from a random sample of 500 households in Borana, Ethiopia, Nyando, Kenya, Hoima Uganda, and Lushoto, Tanzania. Adaptation was measured using a livelihood-based index that assigned weights to different individual strategies based on their marginal contributions to a household’s livelihood. Results showed that farmers’ attitudes across the four sites strongly favored introduction of new crops, changes in varieties, and changes in planting times. Farmers disfavored soil, land, and water management practices. At lower levels of adaptation (25% quantile), adaptation index correlated positively with membership to farmers’ groups, household size, sex of the household, and number of months of food shortage. Membership to farmers’ groups enhanced adaptation at intermediate (50% quantile) level whereas access to credit increased adaptation at high (75% quantile) level. Food insecurity, however, correlated negatively with the likelihood to choose individual adaptation strategies suggesting that although households adapted to improve food security status of their households, hunger was a barrier to adaptation. Our findings suggest that providing climate information to inform timely planting, promoting crop diversification, and encouraging adoption of adapted varieties of crops might be successful to enhancing resilience of farming systems in the short-term. In the long-term, increased investment in reducing hunger, encouraging groups formation, and easing liquidity constraints will be required to promote adaptation through implementation of soil, water, and land management strategies 2017 2017-03-09T16:18:40Z 2017-03-09T16:18:40Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80194 en Open Access Elsevier Shikuku, Kelvin M.; Winowiecki, Leigh; Twyman, Jennifer; Eitzinger, Anton; Perez, Juan G.; Mwongera, Caroline; Läderach, Peter. 2017. Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa . Climate Risk Management . Elsevier B.V, 16: 234-245.
spellingShingle livelihood
climate change
climate risks
smallholders
farming systems
land management
water management
soils management
food security
medios de vida
cambio climático
sistemas de explotación
ordenación de tierras
ordenación de aguas
manejo del suelo
seguridad alimentaria
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Winowiecki, Leigh Ann
Twyman, Jennifer
Eitzinger, Anton
Pérez, Juan Guillermo
Mwongera, Caroline
Läderach, Peter R.D.
Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title_full Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title_fullStr Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title_full_unstemmed Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title_short Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
title_sort smallholder farmers attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in east africa
topic livelihood
climate change
climate risks
smallholders
farming systems
land management
water management
soils management
food security
medios de vida
cambio climático
sistemas de explotación
ordenación de tierras
ordenación de aguas
manejo del suelo
seguridad alimentaria
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/80194
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