Smallholder Farmers’ Coping Strategies to Perceived Climate Change and Variability in Isingiro District, South Western Uganda
Date
2023Author
Christine, Aturihaihi
Fina, Opio
Wycliffe, Tumwesigye
Geoffrey, Akiiki Beyihayo
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Climate change and variability pose a major challenge facing the agricultural
sector around the world and trends are feared to intensify by 2050. This is
likely to complicate agricultural decisions affecting local communities who
depend on the sector for their livelihood. Seasonal changes in weather
patterns are projected to reduce food production due to the reduction in
average yields of common food crops. With the majority of smallholder
farmers in Uganda depending on agriculture for survival, building their
adaptive capacity to climate change is vital to ensure household food and
income security. This study aimed at establishing the smallholder farmers’
perceptions of climate change and their initiatives to cope with and manage
the associated risks. A sample of 126 farming households were randomly
selected from three Sub counties in Isingiro District and studied using field
observations and questionnaires. Key informant interviews were also
conducted with three extension workers. The collected data was analysed
using Stata 14 and Excel. The findings revealed that there was increasing
awareness of the climate change and variability challenge among
smallholder farmers with the increasing need to take on adaptation
strategies. The results showed that the major perceived changes were,
increased intensity and frequency of droughts (98%), increase in daytime
temperatures (92.7%), decrease in rainfall intensity (92.1%) and changes in
rainfall distribution patterns (90%). It also showed that different initiatives
had been taken by farmers to cope with the changes like changing planting
dates (92.1%), growing crop variety mixtures (73.8%) and practising soil
and water conservation (62.7%). Based on the findings of this study,
smallholder farmers greatly perceived climate change and variability with
negative impacts imposed on their farming operations. Although farmers
have tried to adapt, there is still a need to support their coping strategies
through appropriate policies. This will facilitate increased adoption of
adaptation measures, thereby reducing the negative consequences of climate
change in future.