Local-level Assessment of Farmer's Adaptive capacity to Climate Change and Variability in Laelay Mychew Woreda Central Zone of Tigray
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Despite its negligible emission of greenhouse gases Ethiopia has been affected by the adverse
impacts of climate change and variability in different sectors among which the agricultural
sector is of a critical focus of this study. This study was conducted with the general objective
of analysing the adaptive capacity of farmers to climate change and variability in the two
dominant agro ecologies of Laelay Mychew woreda central zone of Tigray based on data
collected from 100 household. Descriptive statistics and chi square were used to analyse the
trends of temperature, precipitation changes and occurrence of extreme climatic events in the
study area over the last there decades as perceived by respondents. Accordingly there is an
increasing and decreasing trend of temperature and precipitation respectively, while,
drought, flooding and storm have shown increased frequency over the last 30 years.
According to the chi square results there was a similar trend in the climate change and
variability in both agro ecologies of the study.area. The adaptive capacity of farmers to
climate change and variability in the study area was analysed by using descriptive statistics,
chi squarelT-test and principal component analysis. According to the results from the
descriptive analysis, farmers in the study area have low level of possession and access to the
key livelihood assets. This leads to acceptance of the hypothesis of the study which states that
farmers in the study area have low adaptive capacity to climate change and variability. The
results from the principal component analysis also demonstrated that farmers in the Dega
agro ecology have highest adaptive capacity to climate change and variability. In Hatsebo
kebele (Dega) 64%, 36% and 0% of the surveyed households have highest, medium and
lowest adaptive capacity to climate change and variability, where as in Welel kebele (kola)
4%, 28% and 68% of the total surveyed household have highest, medium and lowest adaptive
capacity to climate change and variability. This difference is statistically significant at
O.OJ/evel. Hence, the hypothesis that farmers living in Dega agro ecology have beller
adaptive capacity to climate change and variability is accepted at less than O. OJ levels. To
assess the demographic, socia-economic and farming characteristics that affect farmers
adaptive capacity linear correlation was used. Accordingly, Adaptive capacity of farmers to
climate change and variability in the study area is strongly affected by household head's
age (0. 360), size of cultivable land(0.55J), type of agricultural practice(0.585) and
household's wealth status(O.646) which is significant at 0.01 level. While it is moderately
affected by household family size (0.226) and purpose of agricultural practice (0.254) and
this is significant at 0.05 levels. So as to enhance the adaptive capacity offarmers in the study
area measures such as, effective implementation of health care service, facili tating more
supportive and cohesive social environment, better management of natural resources, beller
access [0 basic extension services and facilitating inji'C/structure development, easy access to
financial resources, improved early warning systems Cind awareness creation, and targeting
adaptation initiatives towards the lowest adaptive capacity groups and more susceptible
areas were recommended.
Key words: Climate change and variability, Adaptive capacity, Agro-ecology
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Keywords
Climate change and variability, Adaptive capacity, Agro-ecology