Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Variability and Factors Influencing Adaptation: Evidence from Anhui and Jiangsu, China

From climate perceptions to actions: A case study on coffee farms in Ethiopia

Increasing temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns have major consequences for smallholder farmers, especially in the Global South. Our study examined spatial patterns and climatic drivers of farmers' perceptions of climate change, and how these perceptions translated into adaptation actions. We interviewed 56 farmers in southwestern Ethiopia and analyzed ERA5-Land reanalysis climate data from 1971 to 2020. The majority of farmers perceived the recorded temperature increase as well as a decrease and shift in the timing of rainfall. Perceived climate change varied with local climate factors and not with the rate of climate change itself. Farmers' adaptation practices showed associations with local temperature, but not with farmers' perceptions of climate change. Our findings highlight that even if farmers perceive climate change, perceptions are most common in areas where climate action is already urgent, and perceptions may not translate into adaptation. Thus, targeted and timely information and extension programs are crucial.

Climate change and livestock herders wellbeing in Pakistan: Does nexus of risk perception, adaptation and their drivers matter?

Rural people, particularly in developing nations, rely on livestock as a key source of income. In Pakistan, rural people depend profoundly on buffalo, cows, sheep, and goats to earn their livelihood. The systems of agricultural production are at risk because of the negative effects of climate change. It badly affects production and quality of milk and meat, animal health, productivity, breeding, feed, and rangelands of livestock production. Climate change risks assessment and adaptation are required to minimize losses from these effects, which are not just technical but also socioeconomically significant. Hence, based on data collected from 1080 livestock herders using a multistage sampling technique in Punjab, Pakistan this study aims to assess perceived impact of climate change on livestock production and to assess coping strategies. In addition, determinants of adaptation strategies and their effects on livestock production was also estimated. Binary Logistic Regression was used to identify the drivers of adaptation strategies. In addition, Multi Group Analysis (MGA) in Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLS-PM) was applied to compare adapter and non-adapter of climate change adaptation strategies. Findings indicated that there are spread of various diseases to livestock due to adverse effects of climatic variability. There was reduction in the availability of the livestock's feed. Moreover, competition of water and land resources of livestock was also increasing. Low production efficiency resulted in decline of milk yield and meat production. Likewise, mortality of livestock, increased in still births, reduction in reproductive performance, decline in animal fertility, longevity, and general fitness, decreased birthing rates, rises in age at foremost calving in beef cattle was also prevailing. There were different adaptation policies used by farmers to handle with climate change and these were influenced by several demographic, socioeconomic, and agronomic aspects. Findings indicated that nexus of risk perception, adaptation plans and their determinants are beneficial to reduce the consequences of climatic variability and it improve the wellbeing of the herders. Risk management system may be created to protect livestock against losses caused by extreme weather events by providing awareness regarding influence of climate change on livestock. Easy and cheaper credit should be provided to the farmers to manage with the vulnerabilities of climate change.

Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in South India: Empirical evidence

The phenomena of climate change pose multifaceted challenges to crop and livestock farming, with severe implications on smallholder farmers' income and livelihoods. Climate change has profound implications (economic, environmental, and social) predominantly on rainfed regions in developing countries like India, where agriculture constitutes the backbone of the economy. In this context, the current study analyzes how farmers perceive climate change in the rainfed ecosystem in India, farmers' adaptation strategies, and their major determinants in addressing climate change. Data were collected from 400 sample farmers in South India. Discriminant and multinomial logit models were employed to identify the adaptation strategies of the farmers. It was evident that the factors such as off-farm income, farm income, and farming experience significantly influenced the adaptation strategies for tackling climate change. Furthermore, access to climate change information and literacy level are vital determinants in different climate change adaptation strategies, including crop diversification, integrated farming system, contingency plans for farm operations, and adoption of soil and water conservation techniques. However, the study highlights the increasing role of institutions (government and private) in future to safeguard the interests of farmers by offering a wide range of policy, research, and technology interventions. In a nutshell, R&D focus on climate-resilient agriculture, application of ICTs in agro-advisory services, and creation off-farm employment opportunities for the farmers is crucial to sustaining their livelihoods as these serve as potential mitigation strategies to impart resilience to climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture in rainfed ecosystems in India or any other countries.

Lessons from farmers' adaptive practices to climate change in China: a systematic literature review

Due to the vulnerability and exposure of agriculture, farmers' adaptive strategies to climate change are important to food security and sustainable environment development. However, a systematic review is still absent, though there are many studies about farmers' adaptations to climate change, and few studies discuss their potential impacts on climate change. This article analyses farmers' adaptation strategies and their heterogeneities across regions in China via a systemic literature review. Then we also discuss possible driving factors of these adaptations and their potential impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. We follow the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines to identify and screen publications. A total of 448 relevant records were identified from the Web of Science, Elsevier ScienceDirect, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). We include peer-reviewed publications focusing on farmers engaged in crop farming in China, with survey data and specific adoption ratio analysis of adaptations to climate change. After screening, 27 articles were finally analysed. Our results show that crop variety management, rescheduling farming, increasing production inputs, increasing irrigation, and crop structure management are prevalent strategies reported in the existing literature. However, sustainable adaptations such as improving farmland's ecological environment and agronomic water-saving irrigation gain less attention. Besides, farmers in northern China adapt to climate change more actively compared to their counterparts in southern China. Moreover, some adaptations with high adoption ratios, such as increased chemical inputs, might increase greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate climate change. Our findings have important implications for food security and sustainable agricultural development.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies by Indonesian Vegetable Farmers: Comparative Study of Organic and Conventional Farmers

Some experts believe that organic agriculture is more adaptable compared to conventional agriculture. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to assess organic and conventional farmers’ perception and adaptation to climate change and analyse the factors that influence such decisions. The survey was conducted in Java, involving 112 organic farmers and 112 conventional farmers. The chi-square test was used to differentiate climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies applied by farmers. The factors that influenced the selection of the adaptation strategies were analysed using logistic regression. The results of analysis found that organic farmers have more precise perceptions of climate change than that of conventional farmers. Organic farmers more commonly implement mixed cropping, crop rotation, increasing organic manure, using shade, and changing irrigation techniques as their adaptation strategies, while conventional farmers more commonly prefer to adjust planting and harvesting dates and use traditional climate prediction called Pranata Mangsa. The selection of farmers’ adaptation strategies is influenced by age, education, experience, distance to extension services, access to credit, information about climate and farmer groups, as well as farmers’ perceptions of climate change. The results of the study recommend that policy makers increase farmers’ adaptive capacity through investment in education and institutions to support climate change adaptation.

Perceptions, Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change Effects among Small Livestock Herders in Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan is an agrarian nation that is among the most vulnerable countries to climatic variations. Around 20% of its GDP is produced by agriculture, and livestock-related production contributes more than half of this value. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to determine the vulnerability and knowledge of livestock herders, and particularly the smaller herders. Comprehending individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to climate change (CC) will enable effective formulation of CC mitigation strategies. This study intended to explore individual perceptions of and vulnerabilities to CC based on a primary dataset of 405 small livestock herders from three agro-ecological zones of Punjab. The results showed that livestock herders' perceptions about temperature and rainfall variations/patterns coincide with the meteorological information of the study locations. The vulnerability indicators show that Dera Ghazi Khan district is more vulnerable than the other two zones because of high exposure and sensitivity to CC, and lower adaptive capacity. However, all zones experience regular livelihood risks due to livestock diseases and deaths resulting from extreme climatic conditions, lower economic status, and constrained institutional and human resource capabilities, thus leading to increased vulnerability. The results indicate that low-cost local approaches are needed, such as provision of improved veterinary services, increased availability of basic equipment, small-scale infrastructure projects, and reinforcement of informal social safety nets. These measures would support cost-effective and sustainable decisions to enable subsistence livestock herders to adopt climate smart practices.

Climate Change Adaptation Influences and Barriers Impacting the Asian Agricultural Industry

There has been an increasing interest among scholars regarding the impacts of climate change on agriculture and possible adaptation strategies for farmers. Little attention has been paid, however, to reviewing adaptation initiatives amongst farmers in Asia. This article fills this knowledge gap by examining the current literature on Asian farmers’ perception of climate change, their adaptation strategies, key factors influencing their choices, and the barriers to change. A systematic quantitative literature review is undertaken of 48 papers taken from a range of sources. The review indicates that farmers’ perceptions of climate change have been consistent with the scientific data. It further identifies farmers’ adaptation strategies with regards to soil conservation, water management and land use changes. The review shows numerous factors influencing, and barriers impacting, farmers’ ability to adapt. Influencing factors were analysed and categorised into five groups: cognitive, demographic, social-economic, resources, and institutional. Barriers hampering their adaptive capacity were identified as: a lack of access to information, a lack of access to extension services, limited awareness and knowledge, and limited financial options. The review finishes with some recommendations for future research.

Climate change adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers in Nigeria: does non-farm employment play any role?

Non-farm employment in agrarian communities in developing countries has received a lot of attention. However, its role in implementing climate change adaptation strategies is rarely discussed. This study employs a cross-sectional data to examine whether rural households in Southwest Nigeria are increasing the extent of climate change adaptation practices through their participation in non-farm employment. To account for selectivity bias, the study used endogenous treatment effect for count data model (precisely Poisson) augmented with the inverse probability-weighted-regression-adjustment (IPWRA) estimator. Both estimators found that rural non-farm jobs increase smallholder farmers' adaptive capacities and that participants would have used less adaptation techniques if they had not participated in non-farm work. Efforts to boost rural development must provide more employment opportunities for farmers, particularly during the off-cropping time. This will help farmers improve their ability to adopt more climate change adaptation strategies and, consequently increase farm productivity.

Climate change perceptions and the adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies: Evidence from rice production systems in the Yangtze River Basin

Using a sample of 1115 rice farmers, we explored climate change perceptions, adoption of agricultural low-carbon technologies (LCTs), and the determinants influencing rice farmers' climate change adaptation in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), central China. We built a theoretical framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and performed both binary and count estimations to explore the determinants affecting farmers' adoption of LCTs. Our results indicated that most rice farmers strongly agreed they observed shifting local weather conditions (52.74% of respondents) and irregular rainfall patterns (52.56%) within the last year. Further, over two-thirds of the respondents perceived that agricultural production contributes to climate variability (26.73% strongly agreed, and 40.54% agreed with that statement). In terms of the adoption intensity of LCTs, we found that about 96% of rice farmers implemented at least one low-carbon technology. Importantly, farmers' perceptions of climate change were positively associated with climate change adaptation. Other significant predictors of climate change adaptation included gender, years of experience, access to agricultural training through extension services, exchange of technical information among farmers, and access to mobile networks and postal services. We underlined policy recommendations that may accelerate climate change adaptation in rice production and complement current agricultural low-carbon programs in China.

Factors Influencing Measure-based Adaptation of Rice Farmers for Slow-Onset Hazard: the Case of Saltwater Inundation in the Philippines and Vietnam

This study sought to determine the factors influencing rice farmers' adaptation to a slow-onset hazard such as saltwater inundation. The research is based on a survey conducted through personal interviews using Kobotool App consisting of 326 coastal rice farmers in Northern Mindanao, the Philippines and 258 rice farmers in two provinces in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. There were four levels of analyses for the assessment of the feasibility of the adaptation measures implemented by the farmers. First, it classified adaptation measures into specific categories: technology based, farm-based crop management, ecosystem-based adaptation, off-farm income diversification, and other measures. Second, it developed a multi-criteria assessment tool on adaptation measures based on stakeholder analysis and expert judgment based on four major feasibility criteria. Third, it determined the level of adaptation based on the combination of measures and the feasibility of the chosen measures by constructing a measure-based adaptation index (MAI). Finally, it came up with a model showing the factors influencing the MAI of the farmers. The results revealed that adaptation takes place at different levels in the two countries based on the diversity of measures, the feasibility of the various measures, and the varying conditions of saltwater inundation. The empirical evidence provides systematic support for the hypothesis that adaptation measures are influenced by a confluence of social, institutional, and economic factors.

Farmers' perceptions of climate change and adaptation behavior in Wushen Banner, China

A better understanding of farmers' perceptions of and responses to climate change is important for decision-makers to design more effective adaptation policies. This study investigates farmers' perceptions of climate change, actual adaption responses at the farm level, and factors influencing farmers' decisions on climate change adaptation in Wushen Banner, China. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 220 farmers with a random sampling technique. We found that farmers were generally concerned about climate change. Most farmers have adopted adaption measures to address the adverse effects of climate change. Adjusting farming behavior and using financial means were the main adaptation measures used by local farmers. The results revealed that the implementation of adaptation measures was constrained by the lack of technology, shortage of money, and poor infrastructure. The binary logistic regression results showed that farmers' socioeconomic characteristics, such as education, farming experience, and gender, had significant impacts on farmers' decisions to choose adaptation strategies. The regression results also indicated that farmers who believed climate change would affect their health were more willing to choose financial instruments, and farmers who believed climate change would affect their agricultural productions were likely to diversify their livelihoods. The findings provide some critical insights based on local perceptions of climate change and enhance our understanding of cognitive beliefs attached to adaptive responses.

Farmers' Willingness to Participate in Agricultural Product Safety Cogovernance and Self-Governance in Jiangsu, China: A Gender Perspective

ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, the issues of quality and safety of agricultural products have attracted widespread attention in the People's Republic of China. The purpose of this study was to understand factors that influence farmers' willingness to participate in agricultural product safety cogovernance and self-governance based on a survey of farmers in Jiangsu Province, China. The results show that farmers' willingness to participate in the cogovernance and self-governance of agricultural product safety must be further improved. Among the sampled farmers, 28.93% consider that other farmers' improper agricultural product safety practices have nothing to do with them, and 17.25% claim that they would not want to take part in agricultural product safety trainings. Farmers with a weak appreciation for agricultural product safety hazards, a lack of food safety knowledge, and improper agricultural product safety practices are less willing to participate in cogovernance and self-governance of agricultural product safety. Female farmers are more willing to engage in agricultural product safety training than male farmers; however, their willingness to participate in agricultural product safety cogovernance is lower. The results of this study will be useful in improving food safety policy in China.

HIGHLIGHTS

Farmers’ Intention to Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture in the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve (Vietnam): A Combination of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT)

Coastal communities living in the low delta areas of Vietnam are increasingly vulnerable to tropical storms and related natural hazards of global climate change. Particularly in the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve (RRDBR), farmers change the crop structure and diversify agricultural systems to adapt to the changing climate. The paper deals with a quantitative approach combined with behavior theories and surveyed data to analyze farmers’ intention to climate change adaptation in agriculture. Based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), seven constructs are developed to a questionnaire surveying 526 local farmers: risk perception, belief, habit, maladaptation, subjective norm, adaptation assessment, and adaptation intention. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is implemented to extract eight factors and to quantify the relationship between protective behavior factors with the adaptation intention of the surveyed farmers. Two bootstrap samples of sizes 800 and 1200 are generated to estimate the coefficients and standard errors. The SEM result suggests a regional and three local structural models for climate change adaptation intention of farmers living in the RRDBR. Farmers show a higher adaptation intention when they perceive higher climate risks threatening their physical health, finances, production, social relationships, and psychology. In contrast, farmers are less likely to intend to adapt when they are subject to wishful thinking, deny the climate risks, or believe in fatalism.

Attitudes of Farmers and Rural Area Residents Toward Climate Change Adaptation Measures: Their Preferences and Determinants of Their Attitudes

In this study, data obtained from an online survey were analyzed to identify the perception gap between farmers and nonfarmers (rural area residents) toward climate change adaptation measures with conventional and new elements of the psychological mechanism. Key findings from the study were as follows. First, the perception of climate change risk and awareness of impacts of climate change had strong effects on the preferences for and willingness to participate in measures rather than trusting the government and values pertaining to the policy decision-making process. Second, farmers tended to prefer “protection” and “transfer of risks (insurance)” as climate change adaptation measures more than nonfarmers did. Farmers also tended to be unwilling to participate in “withdrawal”, reflecting the difficulty of relocating agricultural land. Third, farmers’ willingness to participate in climate change adaptation measures was determined strongly by their preferences. Therefore, to increase preference, there needs to be communication about multiple risks including climate change risks associated with not only “adjustment” and “protection”, which tend to be preferred, but also “withdrawal”, which tends to not be preferred. Contrasting with these, nonfarmers tended to prefer any particular climate change adaptation measures statistically-significantly, but they tended to be willing to accept “self-help” absolutely and “withdrawal” relatively. Also, farmers’ willingness to participate in climate change adaptation measures was determined strongly by their preference. One of the ways to increase the preference is communicating about the multiple risks including climate change risks associated with “adjustment,” “protection” and “transfer” which tend to be preferred more than nonfarmers did. Finally, trust in the government and values pertaining to the policy decision-making process did not necessarily have a serious impact on policy preferences and willingness to participate, both for farmers and nonfarmers. More analyses for other sectors will be needed for further study.

Comparison between meteorological data and farmer perceptions of climate change and vulnerability in relation to adaptation

How farmers perceive climate change has an influence on how they adapt to climate change. Climate change perception and vulnerability were assessed based on the household survey information collected from randomly selected 118 farmers of Kalapara subdistrict in Bangladesh. This paper identified the socio-economic covariates of climate change perception and vulnerability in relation to agricultural adaptation. It was also determined whether their perception was consistent with meteorological information. Findings revealed that the farmers had a moderate level of perception of and vulnerability to climate change. An overwhelming majority (98%) of the respondents perceived a warmer summer and 96% of them observed a colder winter compared to the past. Among the farmers, 91% believed that rainfall had increased and 97% thought that the timing of rainfall had changed. The belief of increase in soil salinity and associated loss was prevailing among 98 and 99% of them, respectively. Observed climate data were mostly aligned with the farmers' perception with respect to temperature, rainfall, floods, droughts and salinity. Positive correlations were found among the perception of climate change, the perception of vulnerability and the number of adopted adaptation practices. Farmers' level of understanding of climate change, vulnerability and adaptation practices could be improved by involving them in different organizations, such as climate field school and farmer associations. It could accelerate the dissemination of agricultural adaptation practices among them to cope with adverse agricultural impacts of climate change.

Can Protection Motivation Theory Explain Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change Decision Making in The Gambia?

In The Gambia, climate change has affected, and continues to affect, the agriculture sector. Thus, there is a need to develop and understand effective agricultural adaptation policies. The present study used protection motivation theory to describe farmers’ adoption of climate change adaptation measures in the Central River Region of The Gambia. Primary data were collected in eight communities of the region. A transect walk was conducted, followed by a survey of farmers (n = 283). Perception data collected referred back to the past 20 years, with stated implementation addressing current adaptation practices. Results showed that the perception variables, namely, severity, ability to withstand, and internal barriers, were significantly correlated with protection motivation, while protection motivation and stated implementation for water conservation technique were strongly correlated. Structural equation modeling confirmed the mediation role of protection motivation between farmers’ “stated implementation” of adaptation measures and their perception of climate variability. A decrease in soil water storage capacity, degradation of the quality of soil surface structure, and a decrease of the length of the growing season are all factors that motivate farmers to implement an adaptation measure. The cost of the implementation and farmers’ vulnerability are factors that prevent implantation of adaptation measures. This study suggested that farmers’ resilience should be improved and adaptation measures should be subsidized in order to make them more accessible to farmers.

Evaluating Public Attitudes and Farmers’ Beliefs towards Climate Change Adaptation: Awareness, Perception, and Populism at European Level

The scientific understanding of climate change is firmly established; it is occurring, it is primarily due to human activities, and it poses potentially serious risks to human and natural systems. Nevertheless, public understanding of this phenomenon varies widely among farmers and the public, the two-target audience of this paper. This paper introduces two research questions: (1) How climate change is perceived by public-farmers’ nexus; and (2) How perception and populism (as a thin-ideology moved by social forces) interact? In order to address both questions, we review insights from different sources (literature, research projects, and public opinion services) over the last 10 years. The results proved how public experience of climate change is interdependent with the belief that climate change is happening. What is also notable is that the greater the years of farmers’ farming experiences, the greater the percentage rate of their climate change awareness. Differences among farmers and public perceptions were also noted. Uncertainty, coupled with skepticism, the media, and political will, are common findings when asking to farmers and the public for the main weaknesses in adaptation to climate change. However, scientific consensus, meteorological data, barriers to adaptation, and the role of technology are subjects in which both differ.