Farmers' perceptions about changes in climate variables: Perceived risks and household responses in different agro-ecological communities, Southern Ethiopia

Rain-fed dependent farmers in Ethiopia are highly affected by changing climate situations. Thus, this study examines farmers' perception of climatic change, related risks, and adaptation practices that farmers have adopted to address the adverse pressures on livelihoods and resources in different agro-ecological communities of Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia. A research approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. 357 household surveys were conducted with representative households. Statistical differences in selecting adaptation strategies between the agro-ecological communities were measured by employing a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A Post-Hoc analysis was also performed to identify the location of the variance. The study revealed, the majority of the respondents interviewed in different agro-ecological communities had perceived declining precipitation and increased temperature. Similarly, respondents reported that the frequency of extreme events like drought, flood, frost, and storm had increased. A significant difference was found between agro-ecological communities in farm management practices. A Tukey post hoc test revealed that farm management practices were mostly practiced by the lowland and highland (p < 0.005) agro-ecological communities. Therefore, since climate stress coupled with socio-economic and institutional stress has serious implications for farmer's livelihood sources, a holistic climate change adaptation strategy considering agro-ecological variation is required to sustain farm household livelihood.