Climate change poses a significant threat to smallholder farmers by altering rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes result in reduced crop yields, water scarcity, and greater vulnerability to pests, threatening food security and livelihoods. In Ethiopia, particularly in the Haramaya District, the livelihoods of people are predominantly reliant on subsistence rain-fed agriculture, rendering smallholder farmers highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The resilience of smallholder farmers is closely tied to their ability to adapt to changing climatic conditions. In the Haramaya District, severe climate change poses significant challenges for smallholder farmers in maintaining their agricultural livelihoods. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the climate change adaptation strategies adopted by smallholder farmers in Haramaya District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data sources were utilized. Primary data were gathered through household surveys involving 189 randomly selected smallholder farmers, as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Secondary data were obtained from prior studies and relevant institutional reports. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multinomial probit model. The findings of the study show that farmers adopted a variety of climate change adaptation strategies. The most commonly reported strategy was changing livestock type (22.75%), while changing the planting period was the least adopted (16.40%). Other notable strategies included soil and water conservation (22.22%), income diversification (20.63%), and the cultivation of drought-tolerant crops (17.99%). he multinomial probit model identified several factors that significantly influence smallholder farmers’ decisions in selecting adaptation strategies in response to climate change in the study area, such as age, access to climate information, livestock holdings, irrigation access, education level, frequency of extension visits, active labor size, and access to credit. The findings emphasize the urgent need for governmental and non-governmental organizations to strengthen support for smallholder farmers by improving access to credit, raising awareness about effective climate change adaptation strategies, and providing comprehensive extension services. Additionally, efforts should focus on enhancing educational opportunities, particularly in climate resilience, and investing in long-term climate mitigation initiatives. These measures are essential to enhance the adaptive capacities of farmers and ensure their sustainable livelihoods in the face of climate change.
| Published in | American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics (Volume 11, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11 |
| Page(s) | 61-71 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Adaptation Strategies, Climate Change, Ethiopia, Multinomial Probit Model, Smallholder Farmers
| [1] | FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). (2015). The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture. Managing systems at risk. Rome, FAO and London, Earthscan. |
| [2] | NBE (National Bank of Ethiopia). (2018). The share of agriculture in the Ethiopian economy. National Bank of Ethiopia Annual Report 2017/18, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. |
| [3] | IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). (2014). Climate change, 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. |
| [4] | Lobell, D. B., Schlenker, W. and Costa-Roberts. J. (2011). Climate trends and global crop production since 1980. Science, 333 (6042): 616–620. |
| [5] | Conway, D. and Schipper, E. (2011). Adaptation to climate change in Africa: Challenges and opportunities identified from Ethiopia. Global Environmental Change, 21(1): 227–237. |
| [6] | HWAEPA (Haramaya Woreda Administration Environmental Protection Authority). (2012). An Assessment study on the impacts that climate change has contributed to Haramaya Woreda rangelands. |
| [7] | Challinor, A. J., Watson, J., Lobell, D. B., Howden, S. M., Smith, D. R. and Chhetri, N. (2014). A meta-analysis of crop yield under climate change and adaptation. Nat. Clim. Change 4(4), 287. |
| [8] | Stringer, L. C., Fraser, E. D., Harris, D., Lyon, C., Pereira, L., Ward, C. F., and Simelton, E. (2020). Adaptation and development pathways for different types of farmers. Environ. Sci. Pol. 104, 174–189. |
| [9] | Leclere, D., Jayet, P. A. and de Noblet-Ducoudre, N. (2013). Farm-level autonomous adaptation of European agricultural supply to climate change. Ecol. Econ. 87, 1–14. |
| [10] | Ojo, T. O. and Baiyegunhi, L. J. S. (2020). Determinants of climate Change adaptation strategies and its impact on the net farm income of rice farmers in South-west Nigeria. Land Use Pol. 95, 103946. |
| [11] | IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development). (2014). Annual Report, 2014: Platform for Agricultural Risk Management. |
| [12] | Kabir, A., Amin, M., Roy, K. (2021) Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in the coastal zone of Bangladesh: implications for adaptation to climate change in developing countries. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 26, 30 (2021). |
| [13] | Ojo, T. O., Adetoro, A. A., Ogundeji, A. A., and Belle, J. A. (2021). Quantifying the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies and farmers' access to credit in South Africa. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 792, 148499, ISSN 0048-9697. |
| [14] | Kumar KNR, Reddy MJM, Reddy KV, Paramesha V, Balasubramanian M, Kumar TK, Kumar RM and Reddy DD. (2023). Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in South India: Empirical evidence. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7: 1010527. |
| [15] | Deressa, T. T., Hassan, R. M., Ringler, C., Alemu, T., and Yesuf, M. (2009). Determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation methods to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. Global environmental change, 19(2), 248-255. |
| [16] | Belay, A., Recha, J. W., Woldeamanuel, T., and Morton, J. F. (2017). Smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate change and determinants of their adaptation decisions in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Agriculture & Food Security, 6(1), 24. |
| [17] | Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda, Diriba Korecha, and Weyessa Garedew. (2023). Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies and existing barriers in the Southwestern parts of Ethiopia. Climate Services, Volume 30, 100376, ISSN 2405-8807. |
| [18] | HWADPFSO (Haramaya Woreda Administration Disaster Preparedness and Food Security Office). (2015). Pre- and Post-Harvest Assessment Report. |
| [19] | Nhemachena, C. and R. Hassan. (2007). Micro-level analysis of farmers' adaptation to climate change in Southern Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00714. |
| [20] | Kotari, C. R. (1990). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd edition. Washwa Prakashan Publication, New Delhi, India. |
| [21] | Hassan, R. and Nhemachena, C. (2008) Determinants of African farmers' strategies for adapting to climate change: multinomial choice analysis. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2(1): 83–104. |
| [22] | Alemayehu, A. and Bewket, W. (2017) Smallholder Farmers’ Coping and Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Variability in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Local Environment, 22, 825-839. |
| [23] | Ifeanyi-obi C. C., Etuk U. R. and Jike-wai O. (2012). Climate Change, Effects and Adaptation Strategies; Implications for the Agricultural Extension System in Nigeria. Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 2(2), pp. 053-060, ISSN: 2276-7770. |
APA Style
Abaynew, H., Ahmed, N., Argaw, B. (2025). Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Their Determinants: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia. American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics, 11(2), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11
ACS Style
Abaynew, H.; Ahmed, N.; Argaw, B. Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Their Determinants: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia. Am. J. Biol. Environ. Stat. 2025, 11(2), 61-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11,
author = {Habtamu Abaynew and Nasir Ahmed and Birhanu Argaw},
title = {Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Their Determinants: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia
},
journal = {American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics},
volume = {11},
number = {2},
pages = {61-71},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajbes.20251102.11},
abstract = {Climate change poses a significant threat to smallholder farmers by altering rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes result in reduced crop yields, water scarcity, and greater vulnerability to pests, threatening food security and livelihoods. In Ethiopia, particularly in the Haramaya District, the livelihoods of people are predominantly reliant on subsistence rain-fed agriculture, rendering smallholder farmers highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The resilience of smallholder farmers is closely tied to their ability to adapt to changing climatic conditions. In the Haramaya District, severe climate change poses significant challenges for smallholder farmers in maintaining their agricultural livelihoods. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the climate change adaptation strategies adopted by smallholder farmers in Haramaya District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data sources were utilized. Primary data were gathered through household surveys involving 189 randomly selected smallholder farmers, as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Secondary data were obtained from prior studies and relevant institutional reports. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multinomial probit model. The findings of the study show that farmers adopted a variety of climate change adaptation strategies. The most commonly reported strategy was changing livestock type (22.75%), while changing the planting period was the least adopted (16.40%). Other notable strategies included soil and water conservation (22.22%), income diversification (20.63%), and the cultivation of drought-tolerant crops (17.99%). he multinomial probit model identified several factors that significantly influence smallholder farmers’ decisions in selecting adaptation strategies in response to climate change in the study area, such as age, access to climate information, livestock holdings, irrigation access, education level, frequency of extension visits, active labor size, and access to credit. The findings emphasize the urgent need for governmental and non-governmental organizations to strengthen support for smallholder farmers by improving access to credit, raising awareness about effective climate change adaptation strategies, and providing comprehensive extension services. Additionally, efforts should focus on enhancing educational opportunities, particularly in climate resilience, and investing in long-term climate mitigation initiatives. These measures are essential to enhance the adaptive capacities of farmers and ensure their sustainable livelihoods in the face of climate change.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Their Determinants: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia AU - Habtamu Abaynew AU - Nasir Ahmed AU - Birhanu Argaw Y1 - 2025/05/22 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11 T2 - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics JF - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics JO - American Journal of Biological and Environmental Statistics SP - 61 EP - 71 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2471-979X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbes.20251102.11 AB - Climate change poses a significant threat to smallholder farmers by altering rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures, and intensifying extreme weather events. These changes result in reduced crop yields, water scarcity, and greater vulnerability to pests, threatening food security and livelihoods. In Ethiopia, particularly in the Haramaya District, the livelihoods of people are predominantly reliant on subsistence rain-fed agriculture, rendering smallholder farmers highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The resilience of smallholder farmers is closely tied to their ability to adapt to changing climatic conditions. In the Haramaya District, severe climate change poses significant challenges for smallholder farmers in maintaining their agricultural livelihoods. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the climate change adaptation strategies adopted by smallholder farmers in Haramaya District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data sources were utilized. Primary data were gathered through household surveys involving 189 randomly selected smallholder farmers, as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Secondary data were obtained from prior studies and relevant institutional reports. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multinomial probit model. The findings of the study show that farmers adopted a variety of climate change adaptation strategies. The most commonly reported strategy was changing livestock type (22.75%), while changing the planting period was the least adopted (16.40%). Other notable strategies included soil and water conservation (22.22%), income diversification (20.63%), and the cultivation of drought-tolerant crops (17.99%). he multinomial probit model identified several factors that significantly influence smallholder farmers’ decisions in selecting adaptation strategies in response to climate change in the study area, such as age, access to climate information, livestock holdings, irrigation access, education level, frequency of extension visits, active labor size, and access to credit. The findings emphasize the urgent need for governmental and non-governmental organizations to strengthen support for smallholder farmers by improving access to credit, raising awareness about effective climate change adaptation strategies, and providing comprehensive extension services. Additionally, efforts should focus on enhancing educational opportunities, particularly in climate resilience, and investing in long-term climate mitigation initiatives. These measures are essential to enhance the adaptive capacities of farmers and ensure their sustainable livelihoods in the face of climate change. VL - 11 IS - 2 ER -
Department of Agricultural Economics, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia
Information