Climate change poses an increasing risk to the agricultural sector and the dynamics that underpin food security. It is one of the main driving forces of the current food insecurity problem in Ethiopia and in Amaro ward in particular. The objectives of this study were to: Examine the current household food security situation in Amaro ward of Ethiopia; identify the adaptation mechanisms deployed by residents of the ward in response to the negative effects of climate change; and ascertain the coping strategies of the households in the study area with respect to food insecurity. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study area and 100 sample respondents. Data was collected using structured interview and focus group discussions. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to examine the food security situation. Weighted Average Score (WAS) was used to analyze the adaptation mechanisms to climate change and the coping strategies to food insecurity. The results showed that majority (80%) of the households were food insecure. Majority (93%) of the respondents also utilized adaptation strategies contentedly. However, majority of households (71%) had great difficulty coping with food insecurity while 29% coped with relative ease. Hence, adaptation to climate change and coping with food insecurity are important factors that determine the welfare of households in Amaro ward. Therefore, common indigenous strategies adopted by farmers like replanting, annual crop rotation, regular weeding, change of meal preferences and reduction of the frequency of feeding in the area should be augmented with modern adaptation and coping practices to minimize food insecurity.

The study assessed the level of perception, awareness and information of households to climate change in Amaro ward, Ethiopia. Two villages were purposively selected from the 34 homogeneous villages that make up the Amaro ward. During the survey, one hundred households were interviewed using multistage technique. Descriptive statistics was applied to analyze the level of information and awareness of rural households on climate change. Weighted Average Score was used to analyze the perception level of respondent’s in the area. Community leaders, head of the ward agricultural office, extension experts, elders and model farmers in the ward were part of the focus group discussion. Data from the focus group discussions complemented the survey results. Descriptive statistics revealed that most (80 and 79%) of households reported that climate has been changing and the change is reflected in terms of temperature and rainfall respectively. The analysis further investigated that majority (77%) of respondents had good awareness on climate change while 68% of them sourced about climate change from community leaders. Weighted Average Score revealed that majority (69%) of the respondents perceived that climate has been changing over the last 20 years in the area. These findings indicate that there is need to enhance farmers’ access to climate data and other climate change information, awareness level of respondents shall reach to the satisfactory level to correctly interpret their perception of climate change.