Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of many economies around the world, and it is arguably the sector most affected by climate change with its variability and extremes. Farmers have suffered significant losses as a result of such occurrences in the past and have used a variety of risk management strategies to deal with the risks involved. This master’s thesis aimed to investigate pastoralists' and agro pastoralists' perceptions of climate-induced risks, as well as their adaptation strategies for mitigating the negative on agricultural production. This study took a qualitative approach to understand and managing agricultural risks with a specific focus on climate-induced risks among pastoralists and agro-pastoral farmers. The findings are based on eighteen interviews conducted in each of the two study areas identified through the purposive sampling technique. The empirical data gathered through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that farmers have experienced extreme events that have significantly affected their agricultural production over the years and have devised risk management strategies identified in this study as preventive, coping and mitigation strategies. However, the majority of respondents feel that extreme events are driven by other natural forces rather than climate change, while only a few believe that climate change is real and have plans to manage the risks associated with it by adopting better mitigation strategies. As this thesis was based on the dryland transform project's fourth pillar, focused on understanding community resilience to seasonality and climate variability, the study recommends improving farmers' access to climate change-related information through partnerships with stakeholders involved in enhancing agricultural productivity. Furthermore, educating farmers and pastoralists on the importance of education and other long-term strategies is recommended. In addition to the academic contribution, this study outlines some policy initiatives that can be implemented to improve farmers' ability to adapt to climate change.