Understanding climate-risk coping strategies among farm households: Evidence from five countries in Eastern and Southern Africa

Rahut, Dil Bahadur; Aryal, Jeetendra Prakash; Marenya, Paswel

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145236

Cited by 32 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Countries with higher adaptive capacity are less vulnerable to climate change, irrespective of the level of exposure to climate risks 38 – 40 . Poverty, access to and ownership of economic resources, and human capital largely influence households’ choices of climate risk adaptation strategies 40 – 43 . Similarly, the capacity to adapt to climate change at the national level is associated with multiple factors, including socio-economic, political, and institutional quality 44 , 45 , institutional improvement such as good governance 46 – 48 .…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Aryal

Sapkota

Rahut

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Understanding major climate risks, adaptation strategies, and factors influencing the choice of those strategies is crucial to reduce farmers’ vulnerability. Employing comprehensive data from 2822 farm households in Ethiopia and Kenya (East Africa; EA) and 1902 farm households in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal (South Asia; SA), this study investigates the main climate risks that farmers faced and the adaptation strategies they used. Among others, excessive rainfall and heightened crop pest/disease incidence are commonly observed climate-induced risks in all study areas, while cyclones and salinity are unique to Bangladesh. Drought is prevalent in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nepal. Farmers in those countries responded with strategies that include change in farming practices, sustainable land management, reduce consumption, sell assets, use savings and borrowings, seek alternative employment and assistance from government or NGO. In general, farmers faced several multiple climate risks simultaneously and they responded with multiple adaptation strategies. Therefore, this study used a multivariate probit (MVP) approach to examine the factors influencing the adoption of adaptation strategies. Unlike other studies, we also tested and corrected for possible endogeneity in model estimation. All the countries mentioned have low adaptive capacity to address climate change, which is further weakened by inadequate governance and inefficient institutions. We observed significant differences in the choice of adaptation strategies between male-headed households (MHHs) and female-headed households (FHHs), as well as across countries. Generally, MHHs are more likely to seek additional employment and change agricultural practices, while FHHs and households headed by older persons tend to reduce consumption and rely on savings and borrowings. Institutional support for adaptation is much less in EA compared to SA. Training on alternative farming practices, enhancing non-farm employment options, better institutional support, and social security for older farmers are crucial for climate change adaptation in both regions.

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Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Aryal

Sapkota

Rahut

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…The variability in production stems from differences in management practices, weather conditions, soil characteristics, and agricultural landscapes (Musafiri et al., 2022), and their influences vary across humid, semihumid, semiarid, and arid AEZs. In response to unpredictable weather patterns, recent studies have advocated optimizing agronomic practices to sustainably enhance production (Kogo et al., 2022; Rahut et al., 2021). Such agronomic practices are useful in the context of low‐input production environments in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agronomic management response in maize (Zea maysL.) production across three agroecological zones of Kenya

Kipkulei,

Bellingrath‐Kimura,

Lana

et al. 2024

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Maize (Zea mays L.) productivity in Kenya has witnessed a decline attributed to the effects of climate change and biophysical constraints. The assessment of agronomic practices across agroecological zones (AEZs) is limited by inadequate data quality, hindering a precise evaluation of maize yield on a large scale. In this study, we employed the DSSAT‐CERES‐Maize crop model (where CERES is Crop Environment Resource Synthesis and DSSAT is Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) to investigate the impacts of different agronomic practices on maize yield across different AEZs in two counties of Kenya. The model was calibrated and evaluated with observed grain yield, biomass, leaf area index, phenology, and soil water content from 2‐year experiments. Remote sensing (RS) images derived from the Sentinel‐2 satellite were integrated to delineate maize areas, and the resulting information was merged with DSSAT‐CERES‐Maize yield simulations. This facilitated a comprehensive quantification of various agronomic measures at pixel scales. Evaluation of agronomic measures revealed that sowing dates and cultivar types significantly influenced maize yield across the AEZs. Notably, AEZ II and AEZ III exhibited elevated yields when implementing combined practices of early sowing and cultivar H614. The impacts of optimal management practices varied across the AEZs, resulting in yield increases of 81, 115, and 202 kg ha−1 in AEZ I, AEZ II, and AEZ III, respectively. This study underscores the potential of the CERES‐Maize model and high‐resolution RS data in estimating production at larger scales. Furthermore, this integrated approach holds promise for supporting agricultural decision‐making and designing optimal strategies to enhance productivity while accounting for site‐specific conditions.

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“…Africa is regarded as the most vulnerable continent to climate change impacts because of its low adaptive capacity and overdependence on natural resource-based livelihoods [3,5,6]. In Africa, climate-induced changes are likely to have dramatic effects on the livelihoods of poor rural communities in particular, on a continent already struggling to eradicate poverty as part of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods, and Human Well-Being: Experiences from Kenya

Pelser¹,

Chimukuche²

2023

Environmental Sciences

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Over the next few decades, climate change is set to fuel the existing degradation of ecosystems across Africa, leading to dramatic consequences for poor rural populations that depend largely on agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods. This chapter draws on the findings of a study that explored how climate change affects the livelihoods and ultimately the well-being of farming and fishing households in a remote rural area in Kenya and discusses the coping strategies adopted by these communities. Understanding how climate change impacts people’s livelihoods is important as a precursor to assist communities to adapt to and cope with the adverse effects of climate change. The results pointed to relatively wide utilization of traditional knowledge in coping strategies. Conversely, robust modern technologies for forecasting weather patterns remain under-utilized among the target population. The chapter concludes with recommendations to capitalize on and strengthen the existing coping strategies of the affected communities.

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Understanding climate-risk coping strategies among farm households: Evidence from five countries in Eastern and Southern Africa

Cited by 32 publications

References 89 publications

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Agronomic management response in maize (Zea maysL.) production across three agroecological zones of Kenya

Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods, and Human Well-Being: Experiences from Kenya

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