Local Knowledge and Perception of Smallholder Farmers on the Impacts of Climate Change and Their Adaptation Strategies in Shashogo District, Central Ethiopia
This study aims to address the knowledge intelligence for local practices related to climate change forecasts and adaptations by exploring community mecha-nisms for rainfall prediction and coping strategies for minimising the effects of climate change. Data on livelihood practices of climate change/ variability prediction, how respondents realise climate change and its impacts, and what mechanisms were practices for rainfall prediction, and adaptation strategies of climate change/variability were collected by using household head survey, which was conducted in a sample of four Kebele Administrations of Shashogo district. Data collection methods included key informant interviews, focus groups, field observations, and household surveys. Exploratory, descriptive, and critical methods of data analysis were used. The coming of rainfall and the season are predicted by communities using a variety of meteorological, en-vironmental, and social factors. The forecasting and predicting techniques that the household head respondents identified include wind direction, the presence of lightning or a rainbow, and cattle behaviour. In response to climate change and variation, the indigenous group uses a variety of climate adaptation ap-proaches, including tree-planting, mutual borrowing, and the adoption of regu-lations through social mechanisms. Predictive ability differs across Indigenous communities according to livestock behaviour, lightning occurrence, wind di-rection, and rainbows. A key component of wise climate adaptation is the val-idation of local area precipitation forecasting by the integration of scientific research with native precipitation forecasting. Politicians would additionally take into account the local practices of prediction mechanisms.
References
[1]
IPCC (2014) Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Working Group II Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
[2]
Wai, Z., Piyakarn, T., Prapeut, K. and Lin, Z. (2019) Evaluating Traditional Knowledge on Climate Change (TKCC): A Case Study in the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar. Environment and Natural Resources Journal, 17, 1-29.
[3]
World Bank (2016) Ethiopia’s Great Run: The Growth Acceleration and How to Pace It. World Bank Group.
[4]
Yesuf, S.D.F., et al. (2011) How Can African Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change? Insights from Ethiopia and South Africa. International Food Policy Research Institute.
[5]
Olutosin, A., Oluwaseun, A., Sawicka, B. and Pszczółkowski, P. (2021) Assessing Food Insecurity and Its Drivers among Smallholder Farming Households in Rural Oyo State, Nigeria: The HFIAS Approach.
[6]
See, J. and Wilmsen, B. (2022) A Multidimensional Framework for Assessing Adaptative Justice: A Case Study of a Small Island Community in the Philippines. Climatic Change, 170, Article No. 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03266-y
[7]
Deressa, T. (2007) Measuring the Economic Impact of Climate Change on Ethiopian Agriculture.
[8]
Tadesse, S.A. and Teketay, D. (2017) Perceptions and Attitudes of Local People towards Participatory Forest Management in Tarmaber District of North Shewa Administrative Zone, Ethiopia: The Case of Wof-Washa Forests. Ecological Processes, 6, Article No. 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-017-0084-6
[9]
Serdeczny, O., Adams, S., Baarsch, F., Coumou, D., Robinson, A., Hare, W., et al. (2016) Climate Change Impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Physical Changes to Their Social Repercussions. Regional Environmental Change, 17, 1585-1600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-015-0910-2
[10]
Chufamo, S., et.al. (2008) Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Smallholder Livelihoods in Shashogo District, Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia. Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 8, 25-38
[11]
Conway, D. and Vincent, K. (2021) Climate Risk in Africa: Adaptation and Resilience. Springer International Publishing.
[12]
Mericia, M.A. and Amador, C.V. (2023) Integrating the Local and Indigenous Knowledge (LiNK) of Barangays Dolo and Manzana in Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Planning. Open Access Library Journal, 10, e9598.
[13]
Mafongoya, P.L. and Ajayi, O.O.C. (2017) Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Climate Change Management in Africa. CTA.
[14]
Dereje Tolera, G. (2019) Food Security and Livelihood Strategies of Rural Farm Households with Focus on Female-Headed Households in Sasiga District, East Wollega Zone, Ethiopia. ADDIS ABABA Ethiop.
[15]
Amanda, D.A. (2021) Knowledge and Perceptions of Climate Change among Small-Holder Farmers in Ghana and the Role of Local Ecological Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation. Meml. Univ. Nfld. Grenfell Campus 131.
[16]
Makungo, R. and Nkuna, T.R. (2023) Prioritising Climate Coping and Adaptation Strategies for Smallholder Farmers in Luvuvhu River Catchment, South Africa. Climate Services, 30, Article ID: 100361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2023.100361
[17]
Jayaraj, P. and Pandey, R. (2021) Investigating SES Variables Causing Changes in Sense of Place in the Context of Coastal Wetland Conservation—A Case of Pulicat Lagoon. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 3, Article ID: 100061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100061
[18]
Magesa, B.A., Mohan, G., Matsuda, H., Melts, I., Kefi, M. and Fukushi, K. (2023) Understanding the Farmers’ Choices and Adoption of Adaptation Strategies, and Plans to Climate Change Impact in Africa: A Systematic Review. Climate Services, 30, Article ID: 100362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2023.100362
[19]
Mekonnen, A., Tessema, A., Ganewo, Z. and Haile, A. (2020) Climate Change Impacts on Household Food Security and Adaptation Strategies in Southern Ethiopia. Food and Energy Security, 10, e266. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.266
[20]
IFPRI, I.F.P. (2019) Building Resilience to Climate Shocks in Ethiopia. International Food Policy Research Institute.
[21]
Asrat, P. and Simane, B. (2018) Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies in the Dabus Watershed, North-West Ethiopia. Ecological Processes, 7, Article No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-018-0118-8
[22]
Tseganeh, B. (2014) Climate Variability and Change in Ethiopia: Exploring Impacts and Adaptation Options for Cereal Production.
[23]
UNFCCC (2005) Compendium on Methods and Tools to Evaluate Impacts of, and Vulnerability and Adaptation to, Climate Change.
[24]
Deressa, T., Hassan, R. and Poonyth, D. (2005) Measuring the Impact of Climate Change on South African Agriculture: The Case of Sugarcane Growing Regions. Agrekon, 44, 524-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2005.9523726
[25]
McSweeney, C., New, M., Lizcano, G. and Lu, X. (2010) The UNDP Climate Change Country Profiles. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 91, 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1175/2009bams2826.1
[26]
Kakiso, T. (2023) Endangered Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing Locally Adopted Tree Conservation Practices in Aleta Wondo District, Sidama Regional State, Ethiopia. Heliyon, 9, e15401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15401
[27]
Mekonnen, Z., Kidemu, M., Abebe, H., Semere, M., Gebreyesus, M., Worku, A., et al. (2021) Traditional Knowledge and Institutions for Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation in Ethiopia. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 3, Article ID: 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100080
[28]
Stephen, C. (2010) Autonomous Adaptation to Climate Change: A Literature Review. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228826724
[29]
Adamseged, M.E. and Kebede, S.W. (2023) Are Farmers’ Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Understated? Evidence from Two Communities in Northern Ethiopian Highlands. Climate Services, 30, Article ID: 100369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2023.100369
[30]
Philip, A., Andrew, J. and Lindsay, C. (2017) Adaptation Opportunities and Maladaptive Outcomes in Climate Vulnerability Hotspots of Northern Ghana. Climate Risk Management, 19, 83-93. https://www.elsevier.com/locate/crm
[31]
Antwi-Agyei, P., Dougill, A.J., Stringer, L.C. and Codjoe, S.N.A. (2018) Adaptation Opportunities and Maladaptive Outcomes in Climate Vulnerability Hotspots of Northern Ghana. Climate Risk Management, 19, 83-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2017.11.003
[32]
Gobena, D. (2009) Application of GIS and Remote Sensing for Flood Hazard and Risk Analysis: The Case of Boyo Catchment. Addis Ababa University.
[33]
Forsyth, T. and Evans, N. (2013) What Is Autonomous Adaption? Resource Scarcity and Smallholder Agency in Thailand. World Development, 43, 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.11.010
[34]
Molla, M. (2016) Projection of Future Climate and its Impacts on Crop Production and Possible Adaptation Strategy: Case Study of Hadiya Zone Shashogo Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. 3-13. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336587510
Tadesse, A. (2011) The Impact of Area Enclosure on Soil Quality and Farmers’ Perception: The Case of Tachignaw Gimbichu Enclosure in Shashogo Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Addis Ababa Univ., 71.
[37]
Garedew, G. (2017) Local Adaptation Practices in Response to Climate Change in the Bilate River Basin, Southern Ethiopia.
