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Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia

Received: 27 July 2023     Accepted: 14 August 2023     Published: 9 October 2023
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Abstract

Climate variability has been adversely affecting agricultural activities and production in many developing countries including Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of climate variability on maize yield and assess farmers’ adaptation strategies in Hawassa Zuria district, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Historical climate data of rainfall and temperature for the period of 1989 to 2019 were obtained from the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia and long term maize yield data was acquired from agricultural office of the district. Moreover, data on farmers adaptation practice was collected from a total of 290 household heads through survey questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. Data quality control, onset date, cessation of the rainy season, length of the growing season, dry spell length and number of rainy days were analyzed. Mann–Kendall trend test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to detect the magnitude and statistical significance of changes in rainfall and temperature. The onset of rainy season and length of growing period were highly variable, while the annual rainfall amount showed a statistically non-significant increasing trend by a factor of 4.34 mm/year in the study area. The annual mean maximum and mean minimum temperature significantly increased by a factor of 0.294°C and 0.64°C per decade, respectively. There was a negative correlation between maize yield and rainfall and temperature features. Climatic factors accounted for approximately 94% of maize yield variation observed in the study area. Coping and adaptation strategies implemented to combat challenges of climate variability. Due to a program run by agricultural extension services from the local government and NGOs, the majority of households adopted crop diversification. During the prolonged dry years, the additional tree planting was primarily for the purpose of providing natural shade for their cattle and crops on the farm. The study concludes that climate variability is apparent and seriously affects maize yield in the study area. Therefore, depending on the finding of the study, the following recommendations are forwarded are: Take special care and attention to the start of the growing season, the end date, and the length of the growing season in the study area; farmers should have access to supplemental irrigation systems from Hawassa Lake or boreholes, especially they live near the lake; and farmers should be warned about the increasing severity of climate variability in the area.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 12, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11
Page(s) 121-137
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), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Adaptation, Climate Variability, Dryspell, Hawassa Zuria, Maize

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    Melese Tadesse Morebo, Mengistu Mengesha Maja, Abebe Aschalew Lakew. (2023). Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 12(5), 121-137. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11

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    Melese Tadesse Morebo; Mengistu Mengesha Maja; Abebe Aschalew Lakew. Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2023, 12(5), 121-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11

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    AMA Style

    Melese Tadesse Morebo, Mengistu Mengesha Maja, Abebe Aschalew Lakew. Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Am J Environ Prot. 2023;12(5):121-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11,
      author = {Melese Tadesse Morebo and Mengistu Mengesha Maja and Abebe Aschalew Lakew},
      title = {Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {12},
      number = {5},
      pages = {121-137},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20231205.11},
      abstract = {Climate variability has been adversely affecting agricultural activities and production in many developing countries including Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of climate variability on maize yield and assess farmers’ adaptation strategies in Hawassa Zuria district, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Historical climate data of rainfall and temperature for the period of 1989 to 2019 were obtained from the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia and long term maize yield data was acquired from agricultural office of the district. Moreover, data on farmers adaptation practice was collected from a total of 290 household heads through survey questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. Data quality control, onset date, cessation of the rainy season, length of the growing season, dry spell length and number of rainy days were analyzed. Mann–Kendall trend test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to detect the magnitude and statistical significance of changes in rainfall and temperature. The onset of rainy season and length of growing period were highly variable, while the annual rainfall amount showed a statistically non-significant increasing trend by a factor of 4.34 mm/year in the study area. The annual mean maximum and mean minimum temperature significantly increased by a factor of 0.294°C and 0.64°C per decade, respectively. There was a negative correlation between maize yield and rainfall and temperature features. Climatic factors accounted for approximately 94% of maize yield variation observed in the study area. Coping and adaptation strategies implemented to combat challenges of climate variability. Due to a program run by agricultural extension services from the local government and NGOs, the majority of households adopted crop diversification. During the prolonged dry years, the additional tree planting was primarily for the purpose of providing natural shade for their cattle and crops on the farm. The study concludes that climate variability is apparent and seriously affects maize yield in the study area. Therefore, depending on the finding of the study, the following recommendations are forwarded are: Take special care and attention to the start of the growing season, the end date, and the length of the growing season in the study area; farmers should have access to supplemental irrigation systems from Hawassa Lake or boreholes, especially they live near the lake; and farmers should be warned about the increasing severity of climate variability in the area.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Impact of Climate Variability on Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield and Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Region, Ethiopia
    AU  - Melese Tadesse Morebo
    AU  - Mengistu Mengesha Maja
    AU  - Abebe Aschalew Lakew
    Y1  - 2023/10/09
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    SP  - 121
    EP  - 137
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5699
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20231205.11
    AB  - Climate variability has been adversely affecting agricultural activities and production in many developing countries including Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of climate variability on maize yield and assess farmers’ adaptation strategies in Hawassa Zuria district, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Historical climate data of rainfall and temperature for the period of 1989 to 2019 were obtained from the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia and long term maize yield data was acquired from agricultural office of the district. Moreover, data on farmers adaptation practice was collected from a total of 290 household heads through survey questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. Data quality control, onset date, cessation of the rainy season, length of the growing season, dry spell length and number of rainy days were analyzed. Mann–Kendall trend test and Sen’s slope estimator were used to detect the magnitude and statistical significance of changes in rainfall and temperature. The onset of rainy season and length of growing period were highly variable, while the annual rainfall amount showed a statistically non-significant increasing trend by a factor of 4.34 mm/year in the study area. The annual mean maximum and mean minimum temperature significantly increased by a factor of 0.294°C and 0.64°C per decade, respectively. There was a negative correlation between maize yield and rainfall and temperature features. Climatic factors accounted for approximately 94% of maize yield variation observed in the study area. Coping and adaptation strategies implemented to combat challenges of climate variability. Due to a program run by agricultural extension services from the local government and NGOs, the majority of households adopted crop diversification. During the prolonged dry years, the additional tree planting was primarily for the purpose of providing natural shade for their cattle and crops on the farm. The study concludes that climate variability is apparent and seriously affects maize yield in the study area. Therefore, depending on the finding of the study, the following recommendations are forwarded are: Take special care and attention to the start of the growing season, the end date, and the length of the growing season in the study area; farmers should have access to supplemental irrigation systems from Hawassa Lake or boreholes, especially they live near the lake; and farmers should be warned about the increasing severity of climate variability in the area.
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Werer Agricultural Research Ceneter, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

  • School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

  • Department of Natural Resources Management, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

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