Damene, Shimeles PhDGeda, Zewdu2021-12-222023-11-182021-12-222023-11-182021-03http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/29404Climate change, which manifested in the form of temperature increases and rainfall variability, has been increasing over the last two decades. The change has been influencing crop and livestock production particularly in vulnerable areas including the study area. In tackling the problem, the Ethiopian government and non-profit making organization has been promoting water harvesting over the last two decades in different parts of the country with due attention in drought prone areas. However, limited empirical based research conducted so far so as to examine role and contribution of the practice for climate change adaptation. Therefore, this research is designed to assess rainwater harvesting practices of smallholder farmers for climate change adaptation tacking Minjar Shenkora Woreda, North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, as a case. The research applied mixed research design approach that used both qualitative and quantitative data, where the quantitative and qualitative data were generated through household (HH) survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) and filed observation. The survey covered 100 HHs, 6 FGDs were conducted with 24 participants and KIIs were conducted with 9 participants. The survey data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. The analysis revealed that climate change is the existing reality in study area over the last two decades that manifested through increasing temperature and erratic rainfall. The survey respondents indicated that they have been experiencing real climate change incidences such as rainfall amount has been highly decreasing, emergence and expansion of new weed types, expansion of invasive plant species, incidence of livestock and crop diseases. The analysis also verified that in response to the climate change effects most farmers in the study area have been adapting different types of rain water harvesting (RWH) practices for production and domestic purposes. Thus, farmers engage in construction and usage of traditional and plastic lined ponds for the purpose of small scale irrigation. The study showed that rainwater harvesting practices improved the crop and livestock production. Nevertheless, the farmer efforts to adopt the RWH practice have been challenged by finance, labor, technical skills and management capability problems. Therefore, there should be policy and strategic measures to support farmer’s effort in adapting climate change impact through promotion and support of RWH practice. The support could be formulating enabling policies and cost-sharing strategies, providing different technologies, facilitating capacity building modalities to enhance the technical skill of farming communities in RWH practicesenRainwater harvesting, climate change adaptation, crop, livestock.Thesis