Confronting climate change and livelihood: smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies in northeastern Burundi

Abstract

Rain-fed agriculture is the main source of livelihood for most of Burundi’s population, especially in the northeastern part of the country. This research is aimed at examining how smallholder farmers in the Northeastern region of Burundi perceive climate change and variability and at identifying the methods that are used to adapt, based on data from 200 small farmers and on actual weather data recorded between 1986 and 2017. We find that the majority of farmers (54%) perceive significant increases in temperature and unpredictability of rainfall duration and intensity and are making adjustments to adapt their agriculture in response to changes in climate. Over 80% of farmers have implemented at least one adaptation strategy among the nine evaluated. Changing crop varieties, changing fertilizers, and planting shade trees are the main adaptation strategies that were being implemented by farmers across the study area. The results of a binary regression model showed that the agricultural education and experience of farmers, as well as farm and family size, livestock ownership, climate information access, credit access, and farm income, strongly influence smallholder farmers’ decisions to adapt to climate change. The main obstacles are the lack of information on climate and adaptation strategies, and poverty, which makes it difficult to cope with the increased costs of farming. Understanding farmers’ perceptions of climate change and variability on a local level would provide information on how to develop adaptation strategies. The present study suggests the need for strengthening farmers’ capacities and improving the policy framework for adaptation to climate change in order to improve farmers’ livelihoods. Implications for policymakers will, therefore, include making flexible credit facilities, and investing in training extension agents on both climate change outreach and coping strategies.

Gendered perceptions and adaptations to climate change in Ghana: what factors influence the choice of an adaptation strategy?

“…The difference between the average number of years of farming experience of men (21) and women ( 16) was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Experience maybe associated with a better understanding of climate change impacts and potential adaptation strategies (Batungwanayo et al, 2023), thereby explaining possible gender differences in choice or use of climate change adaptation strategies. The results also showed that almost all farmers (98%) in the study area relied on crop production as their main income source.…”

“…This assertion is further supported statistically significantly high average farm size is owned/accessed by men farmers (4.5 acres) compared to women (4.4 acres). Thus, farmers with larger farms may have more resources and flexibility to implement certain strategies (Batungwanayo et al, 2023), thereby accounting for potential gender differences in climate change adaptation strategies.…”

“…Like access to social and institutional support, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the type of training received were reported by gender, suggesting that both men and women had similar opportunities to receive and learn about agronomic practices, pest and disease control, post-harvest practices, and climate-smart agriculture. These training are critical in equipping farmers with knowledge and skills on how to manage their crops effectively and enabling them to understand climate change, manifestation and infestation of pests and diseases, and implementation of effective climate adaptation strategies (Batungwanayo et al, 2023;Kwambai et al, 2023). Access to climate information/advise from extension officers and farmers involvement in climate change planning strong precursors/ pathways of choice of climate change adaptation strategies.…”

Local Context Capacity Building Needs for Climate Change Adaptation among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda: Policy and Practice Implications

“…The associated trends and events continue to lower agricultural land productivity, causing malnutrition, loss of livelihoods and hampering prosperity [4]. The effects are most pronounced and experienced in developing countries where rain-fed agriculture constitutes a major source of livelihood [5]. These impacts are also considered to be key drivers of human displacement and mass migrations [6], increased vulnerability of women and girls to violence (Nerini et al, 2019) and increased gender inequalities, such as the withdrawal of girls from school [7].…”

Local Context Capacity Building Needs for Climate Change Adaptation Among Small-holder Farmers in Uganda: Policy and Practice Implications

“…The associated trends and events continue to lower agricultural land productivity, causing malnutrition, loss of livelihoods and hampering prosperity (Ruwoldt, 2013;Singh et al, 2014). The effects are most pronounced and experienced in developing countries where rain-fed agriculture constitutes a major source of livelihood (Nkuba et al 2020a;Omotoso et al 2023;Batungwanayo et al 2023). These impacts are also considered to be key drivers of human displacement and mass migrations (Orhan 2018), increased vulnerability of women and girls to violence (Nerini et al, 2019) and increased gender inequalities such as the withdrawal of girls from school (Ampaire et al 2020).…”