Climate Change Adaptation Strategies of Smallholder Farmers: The Case of Babilie District, East Harerghe Zone of Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia

Abstract

Climate change is a global phenomenon. Its impact on agricultural activities in the developing countries has been increasing. Higher temperature and decreasing precipitation levels caused by climate change depresses crop yields. This is particularly true in low-income countries where adaptive capacities are perceived to be low. The vulnerability of poor countries could be due to weak institutional capacity, limited engagement in environmental and adaptation issues, and lack of validation of local knowledge. A better understanding of the local dimensions of vulnerability is therefore essential to develop appropriate adaptation measures that can mitigate these adverse consequences. The main aim of this study was to identify the determinants of farmer’s choice of adaptation strategies to climate change in the Babilie district of Eastern Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for this study. Primary data were collected from a randomly selected 160 sample households interviewed through a semi-structured questionnaire, key informants interview and focus group discussion. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was estimated to analyze the factors influencing households’ choice of adaptation strategies to climate change. The result from the multinomial logit analysis showed that sex of the household head, age of the household head and education of the household head, family size, livestock ownership, household farm income, non/off farm income, access to credit, distance to the market center, access to farmer-to-farmer extension, agro ecological zones, access to climate information, and extension contact have a significant impact on climate change adaptation strategies. Therefore, future policy should focus on awareness creation on climate change through different sources such as mass media and extension, encouraging informal social net-works, facilitating the availability of credit, enhancing research on use of new crop varieties that are more suited to drier conditions and different agro ecological zones.

Key words: Climate change, Babilie district of Eastern Ethiopia, Adaptation to climate change, Multinomial logit