EFFECTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY ON CROP PRODUCTION AND FARMERS’ ADAPTATION STRATEGIES: THE CASE OF GIMBICHU WOREDA, EAST SHEWA ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the variability and trends of rainfall and temperature, to assess the effects of climate variability on wheat crop production and to examine the existing adaptation strategies of the farmers to the climate variability in Gimbichu woreda, Ethiopia. A descriptive research design and a concurrent mixed research approach were employed. The sample population selected through a simple random sampling technique was 322HHHs settled in varied ecological areas. Both primary and secondary data sources were used. To collect data, survey questionnaires, focus groups, key informant interviews, and field observations were used. Meteorology data was gathered from Chefe Donsa meteorological stations from 1994 to 2021. XLSTAT, Pearson correlation and linear regression, Microsoft Excel version 2010, Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS) version 25, and other descriptive statistics were used to analyze this data. In Gimbichu district, annual rainfall ranged from 591.1 to 1080.9 mm with mean rainfall amount of 847.0mm, a SD of 146.7mm and a CV of 17.3%. Furthermore, the results of Pearson Correlation Coefficients indicated that, annual and kiremt minimum temperature against staple crop production had negative correlation for wheat (r = -0.492) and (r = -0.480) and maize (r = -0.467) respectively. While positive correlation of annual and kiremt rainfall(r=0.266) and (r = 0.303) against wheat production. The majority of households were more likely to adopt adaptation strategies to combat climate variability. Local communities' major adaptation strategies included the construction of terraces and check dams, the planting of trees, the improvement of adaptive wheat varieties, the use of mixed farming, and others.