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

Received: 8 December 2023    Accepted: 28 December 2023    Published: 27 February 2024
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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.

Published in Research & Development (Volume 5, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15
Page(s) 29-39
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Adoption, Adaptation Options, Determinant, Climate Change, MNL

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Debela, G. M., Lemma, E. F. (2024). Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia. Research & Development, 5(1), 29-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15

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    ACS Style

    Debela, G. M.; Lemma, E. F. Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia. Res. Dev. 2024, 5(1), 29-39. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15

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    AMA Style

    Debela GM, Lemma EF. Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia. Res Dev. 2024;5(1):29-39. doi: 10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15,
      author = {Gemechis Mersha Debela and Engdasew Feleke Lemma},
      title = {Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia},
      journal = {Research & Development},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {29-39},
      doi = {10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.rd.20240501.15},
      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.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Smallholder Sesame Producers’ Adaptation Decisions to Climate Change and Its Determinants in Western Ethiopia
    AU  - Gemechis Mersha Debela
    AU  - Engdasew Feleke Lemma
    Y1  - 2024/02/27
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15
    T2  - Research & Development
    JF  - Research & Development
    JO  - Research & Development
    SP  - 29
    EP  - 39
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2994-7057
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.rd.20240501.15
    AB  - 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.
    
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • College of Development Studies, Center for Environment and Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Water and Land Resources Center, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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