Climate variability and change or multiple stressors? Farmer perceptions regarding threats to livelihoods in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Mubaya, Chipo Plaxedes; Njuki, Jemimah; Mutsvangwa, Eness Paidamoyo; Mugabe, Francis T.; Nanja, Durton

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.02.005

Cited by 91 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…Farmers in Zimbabwe, for instance, attributed the decline of social and cultural practices to climate variability (Mubaya et al, 2012). Farmers in Sidama did not only indicate decline in cultural practices, but also identified the termination of indigenous practices that were once called upon to resolve natural disasters including drought.…”

Section: Perception Of Causes Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers and policy-makers’ perceptions of climate change in Ethiopia

Hameso

2017

Climate and Development

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Reference:Hameso, Seyoum (2017) The study forms part of the broader research project into actual and perceived climate change that included climate data (see Hameso, 2015) and book chapter on farmers perceptions about climate change (Hameso, 2014) but this paper reports on and compares climate change as perceived by farmers and policy makers. I acknowledge comments from two anonymous reviewers.2

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Section: Perception Of Causes Of Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers and policy-makers’ perceptions of climate change in Ethiopia

Hameso

2017

Climate and Development

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“…Elsewhere, in Ethiopia, farmers reported similar sentiments of reduced rainfalls and changed rainfall patterns [71]. Farmers in Southern Africa region termed perceptions of droughts, floods, reduced rainfalls as stressors [48], although Umande and Muhonia farmers did not mention floods as a perception. Thus as farmers give value of climate perceptions, we interpret their valuing as emphasis of what climate change and variability entirely means to these farmers' agriculture and their livelihoods in general.…”

Section: Overview Of Climate From 1975 To 2010 Of Laikipia District mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The validity of local knowledge has been shown by scientists through comparison with quantitative climate data analysis [39][40][41][42]. The majority of studies show that farmers' resourcefulness matches quantitative data analysis: local knowledge is used to respond to the vagaries of climate such as droughts, famines, floods and other stresses that threaten crops and livestock [38,[39][40][41][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. However, there have also been cases where local knowledge failed to match quantitative climate data, making local knowledge seem unreliable, e.g., as reported from Kenya by Rao et al [51].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Building on the local knowledge would foster adaptive capacity that is acceptable to farmers by promoting and supporting locally developed adaptations. Overall, there is consensus that local knowledge is part of the solution to effective adaptation [11,38,42,45,48,49]. However, there are limited studies that have elaborated on perceptions of losses of crops and livestock that result from climate variability, yet these perceptions can shape the coping and adaptation strategies of smallholders [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local Perceptions and Responses to Climate Change and Variability: The Case of Laikipia District, Kenya

et al. 2012

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Agricultural policies in Kenya aim to improve farmers' livelihoods. With projected climate change, these policies are short of mechanisms that promote farmers' adaptation. As a result, smallholders are confronted with a variety of challenges including climate change, which hinders their agricultural production. Local knowledge can be instrumental in assisting smallholders to cope with climate change and variability. In this paper, we present empirical evidence that demonstrates local knowledge, perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability amongst smallholders of Laikipia district of Kenya. A Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) calculated for one station is compared with smallholders' perceptions. Data was collected using qualitative and quantitative methods in Umande and Muhonia sub-locations. Qualitative data included 46 transcripts from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Quantitative data is derived from 206 interviewees. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data using Atlas-ti and SPSS respectively. According to smallholders' perceptions, climatic variability is increasingly changing. Local perceptions include decreasing rainfalls, increasing temperatures, increasing frosts and increasing hunger. The PDSI shows a trend towards severe droughts in the last four decades, which is in accordance with farmers' perceptions. Smallholders use a combination of coping and OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2012, 4 3303 adaptation strategies to respond to variability, including, among others, diversification of crop varieties, migration and sale of livestock. Significant relationships exist between drought perceptions and some adaptations such as migration and sale of livestock. Farmers have an in-depth knowledge of climatic variability, which they use to inform their coping and adaptation strategies. Knowledge of climatic perceptions and adaptations are vital entry points for decision makers and policy makers to learn how and where to enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholders in rainy and drought periods.

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“…Overall, there is consensus that local knowledge is part of the solution to effective adaptation. 6,[14][15][16]18,19 However, there are limited studies that have elaborated on perceptions of losses of crops and livestock that result from climate variability, yet these perceptions can shape the coping and adaptation strategies of smallholders. 11 We ask how smallholders perceive climate variability, how and why perceptions are valued.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Perception and Knowledge of Smallholder Farmers on Climate Change and Variation; Case of Kaka (A) and Bulu (B) Tribes in Eastern Meyomessala Sub-Division of Cameroon

Sandrine¹

2017

BIJ

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Smallholder farmers are confronted with a variety of challenges including climate variation. Agricultural production is aim to improve the livelihood of farmers. Local knowledge can be instrumental in assisting smallholder farmers to adapt and mitigate climate variability. The objective of this study is to evaluate the perception and knowledge of the smallholder farmers on climate variation and their adaptive and mitigation actions. Questionnaires made up of both open and closed questions were completed by the male and female smallholder farmers belonging to Kaka (A) and the Bulu (B) tribes in Eastern Meyomessala Sub-Division of Cameroon. The data of precipitation and temperature variation for 32 years were obtained from the Aerial Base meteorological center from the same agroecological zone for analysis with the farmers' perception. According to the results, 92% of the respondent of A and 86% of the respondent of B perceived for excessive rainfall and that it occur for a short period. The result also show that 53% of the respondent of A and 58% of respondent in of B practice off-farm activities to compensate for the low income resulting from low harvest due to climate variation. About 32.3% of the respondent of A and 25% of the respondent of B perceived that the climate variation is caused by man. Although the minority of the respondent (19.4% and 5.0%) of A and B respectively perceived for climate variation as causes of anger of the ancestors of the area. There was no significant difference between the A and B on the perception and knowledge of smallholder farmers of the causes of climate change and variation. Knowledge of climatic perceptions and adaptations strategies are vital entry points for policy makers to know where to enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholders' during the short rainy season and extended drought periods. The study will contribute to improving on the adaptive and mitigation action of the smallholder farmers on agricultural activities in the area. of the solution to effective adaptation. 6,[14][15][16]18,19 However, there are limited studies that have elaborated on perceptions of losses of crops and livestock that result from climate variability, yet these perceptions can shape the coping and adaptation strategies of smallholders. 11 We ask how smallholders perceive climate variability, how and why perceptions are valued. There is no guarantee that having perceptions that climate variation is occurring would prompt effective adaptation responses. 20 The adaptive capacity is influenced by factors such as knowledge about climate, asset, and access to appropriate technology, institutions, policies and perception inter alia. 17 There are likely to be severe water shortages and serious disturbances in rainfall patterns in many part of African continent. In order to address the issues, the following questions must be answered; what are the perceptions and knowledge of the smallholders on climate variation? Does the variation in climate affect their agricultural activities? How do sm...

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Climate variability and change or multiple stressors? Farmer perceptions regarding threats to livelihoods in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Cited by 91 publications

References 16 publications

Farmers and policy-makers’ perceptions of climate change in Ethiopia

Farmers and policy-makers’ perceptions of climate change in Ethiopia

Local Perceptions and Responses to Climate Change and Variability: The Case of Laikipia District, Kenya

Comparative Perception and Knowledge of Smallholder Farmers on Climate Change and Variation; Case of Kaka (A) and Bulu (B) Tribes in Eastern Meyomessala Sub-Division of Cameroon

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