Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the impact of climate change through time affects the livelihood of Konso farmers, their agricultural practices and the overall environmental friendliness of the Konso’s. Further the purpose was to identify how the impact of climate change reduces through time their resilience and adaptation of agro ecological farming practices.
Thirty agricultural professionals, thirty extension officers, ten farmers, one nongovernmental organization three elders of the community and five women participated in the study.
The study was based on a questionnaire translated from English, oral interviews and discussions with a group for collecting necessary and important information for the study and for analysis work.
In general, the impact of climate change in Konso is manifested in two extreme weather events; drought and flood which lead to serious socio-economic problems and frequent food insecurity. Furthermore, the result indicates that the Konso people are well known for their natural resource conservations and various agro ecological practices. However, there are determinant factors or constraints to apply agro ecological farming practices as it needed in the wereda. The impacts of climate change in Konso have increased the vulnerabilities of the society and resulted in frequent severe food shortage and poverty problems.
This study indicate that the Konso wereda is affected by the impact of climate change not because of the working culture of the society rather there are factors which can affect or reduce the resilience of the society and their adaptation of agro ecological farming practices. Moreover, the study suggests that if the main factors of the problem i.e. increasing population number, deforestation, shifting cultivation, expansion of free ranching and others contribute for more climate change impacts get a solution then the rest of the problem will be solved.