Households' vulnerability to Climate Change: Insights from a farming community in Aguie district of Niger

Abstract

There is evidence that the effects of climate change constitute a serious problem for the development of sub-Sahara African. Developing countries are more vulnerable to extreme climate change due to their low adaptive capacity. The objective of this research is to analyze household vulnerability to climate change in Aguie district of Niger. Principal components analysis was used to construct the different index. Results of farmers’ perception of factors determining vulnerability outlined food expenditure (2.58), ceremonies (2.13), farming (1.34), and livestock (1.00) as the key factors. The vulnerability level of the study area is 0.075, However, farmers (0.093) are found to be the most vulnerable and pastoralists (-0.328) the least vulnerable. The study also shows that education rate, association membership, strategies index, soil fertility, food coverage, income and agriculture experience family size, income, association membership, strategies index, and farm tree coverage (a proxy of soil fertility) have a significant effect on vulnerability. As far as policy implication, specific attention should be given to small-scale farmers to reducing their sensitivity to climate change through soil fertility management.

Keywords: Adaptation, Drought, Exposure, Sensitivity, Resilience