Climate Variability Impacts on the Small-Scale Farmers and Their Adaptations in Humbo and Duguna Fango Woredas of Wolaita Zone

Abstract

The challenge of climate change is becoming a global issue. In every corner of the world the people are worried about climate changes. The reason is it has an adverse effect generally to all people and particular to rural livelihoods. This study was conducted in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia, in selected Woredas, namely Humbo and Duguna Fango. The main objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of Climate change and variability on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and their adaptations. The study used both probability and non-probability sampling methods to select informants. A total of 482 respondents were selected for this study by using probability sampling techniques. Since the sampled households were heterogeneous, stratified sampling technique was also used to represent male and female headed households in the study. The primary data was collected through semi-structured interview, field observation and key informant interview while Secondary data was collected from national meteorological Agency, published and unpublished materials. The data was analyzed by using SPSS and Excel software. The study revealed that local climatic conditions of these Woreda have been changed in the last three decades. Both meteorological data and the community response confirmed that rainfall is highly variable, while both minimum and maximum temperatures of the district are increasing. These variations are affecting the livelihoods of the small-scale farmers whose livelihoods dependent on agriculture (crop production and livestock production) by decreasing crop and livestock production. Small land size with large family size and the existing poverty are the major challenge for farmers to adapt climate change in the study area. The adaptations strategies that used by small scale farmers to climate change impacts are, the farmers involved in various off farm activities such as, seasonal migration and diversifying labor power, petty trading, borrowing from better-off farmers, resource sharing, renting their farm land temporarily, crop diversification, planting fast growing varieties, irrigation, sales of assets, getting loans through microfinance programs, saving. This study concludes that improving the health of livestock and farmers, reforestation, promoting water harvesting, small scale irrigation and land management techniques to retain soil moisture, diversifying household income, improving coverage and quality of climate data are all necessary in order to improve the livelihoods of local communities.

Keywords: Livelihood, climate variability, adaptation. Crop production, livestock.