SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN RAYA AZEBO DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ZONE OF TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Climate change is threat to the environment as the whole and to agriculture in particular. Itis aggravating drought, pests, diseases and other related environmental shocks and it impacts the dimension of food security.The main objective of the study was to identify farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in Raya Azebodistrict, Southern Tigray, Ethiopia.Both primary and secondary data were used.Descriptive statistics were used to explain farmers’ perception of climate change induced shocks and types of adaptation strategies to climate change at farm level. Multivariate probit model was employed to identify the factors affecting adaptation options of the farm households to climate change. The predicted probability of the farmers to adopt agro forestry, soil and water conservation, small scale irrigation, adjusting planting/sowing date, improved technologies and temporary migration were 44.2%, 56.5%, 45.8%, 48.7%, 51.3% and 47.4% respectively.The joint probability of success and failure to adopt the adaptation strategies were 2.19% and 2.74% respectively.The model result also shows that soil and water conservation practice hascomplementary interdependency with household decisions to adapt use of small- scale irrigation andimproved varieties but substitution interdependency relationship to agro- forestry and adjusting planting/sowing dateas adaptation strategies.Sex, literacy status, agro ecology, family size, land holding, livestock number, access to climate information, extension contact, age, on-farm income, off/non-farm income, and market distance have a statistical significant impact on climate change adaptation strategies.Thus, policy should focus on awareness creation on climate change through different information sources (climate forums, extension services, social networks), strengthen adult education service, opening options to diversify source of income at time of source of income at time of climatic risk condition and strengthen family planning that enable the farmers to buildup adaptive capacity against climate change anxieties.