Exotic chicken breeds were promoted and disseminated in the rural and peri-urban parts of Ethiopia, to improve the productivity of the poultry to increase the income of farmers. The study was conducted to explore the factors affecting adoption of exotic chicken breed in Tselemti and Tahtay Koraro districts of North Western zone of Tigray region, Ethiopia. A multi-stage random sampling technique was followed to select 264 respondents from the six randomly selected Kebelles of the two districts. Primary data were collected using semi-structured interview questionnaire from the respondents. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model were used for analyzing the collected quantitative data. The results of the logit model indicates that family size, sex of the household head, education status of the household head, livestock holding size, extension contact, availability of exotic chicken breed, distance to the nearest market and availability of training on poultry production could play a significant role on the probability of exotic poultry breed adoption. Thus, the dissemination of different exotic chicken breeds needs to be supported with giving training to the farmers before intervention of the technology, extension backup on how to manage and awareness creation on the benefits of exotic chicken breed and giving focus in delivering and making available the chicks of exotic poultry breeds to the farmers.

Comparing the perception of farmers to climate change and variability in Bako Tibe, Ethiopia and Abeokuta, Nigeria is important in promoting sustainable agriculture and in understanding the impact of climate change and variability on agriculture in Africa. A total of 153 farmers were interviewed in both study areas using well structure questionnaire. The study describes the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers using descriptive statistics and thereafter the perception of Bako Tibe and Abeokuta farmers to climate change and variability was examined using Likert type scale. The binary logistics regression was later used to ascertain the effect of socioeconomic characteristics on perception of the farmers in both study areas. The farmers in both study areas believed that there have been changes in the amount of rainfall and temperature in the past thirty years. The farmers in Bako agreed that there have been increased temperature and decreased rainfall, contrary to the farmer's perception in Abeokuta. The binary logistic regression results showed that socioeconomic characteristics of farmers in Bako Tibe, have no effect on the perception of farmers on climate change and variability. However, in Abeokuta, age, land ownership, and distance to market had an effect on the perception on the farmers on climate change and variability. The adaptation strategies to climate change and variability commonly used by Bako Tibe farmers was, improved seed (drought resistance) adaptation method, while most farmers in Abeokuta used soil moisture conservation adaptation method. The study recommends that government and Non-Governmental Organization of both countries should promote more adaptation and mitigation How to cite this paper: Oranu, C.O., Achike, A.I., Zenebe, A. and Teklehaimanot, A. (2018) Comparative Evaluation of Farmers' Perception and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Variability in

Agricultural production in Ethiopia is primarily rainfed, which is characterized by its erratic and often inadequate nature. Women‐headed households are more susceptible to the resulting poor agricultural production. Hence, small‐scale irrigation has been considered as a solution in the country. However, research on its social and economic contribution for these households is limited. Thus, this study aimed at closing this research gap taking Kilte‐Awulaelo District as a case study. The study covered a total of 205 respondents (187 individuals and one group discussion with 18 participants) from three villages. Data were obtained using semi‐structured questionnaires taking changes in household income, housing improvement, resource control, access to social services, and level of community participation as major indicators. The survey indicated that there was an improvement in women‐headed households' overall social and economic benefits after introducing small‐scale irrigation. Small‐scale irrigation significantly increased women‐headed households' income from livestock and crop production by 24.3% and 68.8%, respectively. This led women‐headed households to have access to control of household resources, financial independency, profit, employment opportunities, psychological well‐being, and community participation. It can be concluded that small‐scale irrigation agriculture played a significant role in empowering women‐headed households.