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The Impact of Climate Variability on Food Security and Coping Mechanisms of Farmers in Boricha District Southern Ethiopia

Received: 27 June 2021     Accepted: 16 July 2021     Published: 27 August 2021
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Abstract

The rapid growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels is raising the Earth’s temperature and leading to climate change. This results in variability in precipitation, the prevalence of more extreme weather events, and shifting seasons. The accelerating pace of climate change, combined with population growth, will also threaten food security. Climate change will result in irreparable ecological degradation and possibly the reduction of agricultural productivity in many parts of the World with serious consequences for food security. This paper investigated the impacts of climate variability on food security and coping mechanisms of farmers in Boricha district of Ethiopia by using meteorological, agricultural and socio-economic survey data. The study employed various data analysis methods such as computing the coefficient of rainfall variability, estimating the impact of rainfall and temperature change on agricultural productivity, and analyzing coping strategies of the local communities in response to climate extreme events. The coefficient of rainfall variation results show that rainfall variability has significant and negative impacts on agricultural productivity in the Boricha district. Moreover, linear regression model outputs for the relationship between rainfall and crop yields indicate that rainfall variability has been significantly affecting agricultural productivity in the district. Results from the multinomial logistic model for multi-choice coping/adaptation mechanisms also show that different socio- economic factors such as education level and age of household head, family size, farm income and livestock ownership affect how households cope with extreme climate events. This research suggests that policies should introduce adaptation measures outlined by existing rural communities such as inter-cropping, livelihood diversification and early maturing crops to incorporate indigenous knowledge to ensure food security and sustain the economic growth of the country.

Published in International Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13
Page(s) 41-53
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), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Climate Change, Food Security, Coping Mechanisms, Agricultural Productivity, Impact, Regression Models, Boricha

References
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[2] Cunningham, M. and Cunningham, W. (2008), Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry and applications, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., New York, p. 13.
[3] FAO, (2008), Climate change and food security: A framework document. Retrieved 20 August 2018, from http;//wwww.fao.org/nr/water/docs/HLCo8-FAOwater-E.
[4] Hassan, R. and Nhemachena, C. (2008). Determinants of African farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate change: Multinomial choice analysis, African journal of agriculture and resource economics, 2 (1), 83-104.
[5] Kassahun Abera, (2011). The impact of climate variability on crop production in Ethiopia: Which crop is more vulnerable to rainfall variability? A Paper presented at the 9th International Conference of Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA), Addis Ababa.
[6] Kayri, M. and Çokluk, Ö. (2010), Using multinomial logistic regression analysis in artificial neural network: An application, Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 3 (2).
[7] Khuri, A. (2010), linear model methodology, Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, p. 138.
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[9] Lema Gonfa, (1996). Climate classification of Ethiopia, Meteorological report series No. 3 pp. 40-60, NMSA, Addis Ababa.
[10] Levina, E. and Tirpak, D. (2006). Adaptation to climate change: key terms, OECD/IEA, Paris, France.
[11] Ludi, E. (2009). Climate change, water and food security. Retrieved 13 August, 2018, from http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/314.pdf.
[12] Manahan, S. (2005), Environmental Chemistry, CRC press, p. 380.
[13] Motulsky, H. and Christopoulos, A. (2003). Fitting models to biological data by using linear and nonlinear regression: A practical guide to curve fitting, Graphpad Software Inc., Retrieved 17 March, 2018, from Sun Diego AC, www.grahpad.Com.
[14] National Meteorological Agency, (2007), Climate change national adaptation program of action of Ethiopia: A report of preparation of national adaptation program of action for Ethiopia, NMA, Addis Ababa.
[15] Nellemann, C., MacDevette, M., Manders, T., Eickhout, B., Svihus, B., Prins, A. and Kaltenborn, B. (Eds.) (2009). The Environmental Food Crisis, The environment’s role in averting future food crises: A UNEP rapid response assessment.
[16] Seo, S. N. and Mendelsohn, R. (2008), Animal husbandry in Africa: Climate change impacts and adaptations, African journal of agriculture and resource economics, 2 (1).
[17] Shah, M., Fischer, G. and Velthuizen, H. (2008), Food security and sustainable agriculture: The challenges of climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Luxemburg and Austria.
[18] Sharp, K., Brown, T. and Amdissa Teshome, (2006), Targeting Ethiopia’s productive safety net programme: The final report, retrieved 4 May, 2018, from, www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/3966.pdf.
[19] Taylor, A., Harris, K. and Ehrhart, C. (2010). Perception, power and participation, A bulletin on climate and development, International Institute for Environment and Development and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
[20] USGCRP, (2002), our changing planet: The fiscal year 2003 U.S, Global change research program and climate change research initiative. A report by the climate change science program and the subcommittee on global change research. Retrieved 13 August 2018 from http://www.usgerp.gov/Library/ocp 2003.pdf.
[21] Yamane, T. (1967), Statistics: An introductory analysis, Harper and Row, New York.
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  • APA Style

    Berhanu Majo. (2021). The Impact of Climate Variability on Food Security and Coping Mechanisms of Farmers in Boricha District Southern Ethiopia. International Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 5(2), 41-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13

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    ACS Style

    Berhanu Majo. The Impact of Climate Variability on Food Security and Coping Mechanisms of Farmers in Boricha District Southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Atmos. Oceanic Sci. 2021, 5(2), 41-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13

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    AMA Style

    Berhanu Majo. The Impact of Climate Variability on Food Security and Coping Mechanisms of Farmers in Boricha District Southern Ethiopia. Int J Atmos Oceanic Sci. 2021;5(2):41-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13,
      author = {Berhanu Majo},
      title = {The Impact of Climate Variability on Food Security and Coping Mechanisms of Farmers in Boricha District Southern Ethiopia},
      journal = {International Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {41-53},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaos.20210502.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaos.20210502.13},
      abstract = {The rapid growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels is raising the Earth’s temperature and leading to climate change. This results in variability in precipitation, the prevalence of more extreme weather events, and shifting seasons. The accelerating pace of climate change, combined with population growth, will also threaten food security. Climate change will result in irreparable ecological degradation and possibly the reduction of agricultural productivity in many parts of the World with serious consequences for food security. This paper investigated the impacts of climate variability on food security and coping mechanisms of farmers in Boricha district of Ethiopia by using meteorological, agricultural and socio-economic survey data. The study employed various data analysis methods such as computing the coefficient of rainfall variability, estimating the impact of rainfall and temperature change on agricultural productivity, and analyzing coping strategies of the local communities in response to climate extreme events. The coefficient of rainfall variation results show that rainfall variability has significant and negative impacts on agricultural productivity in the Boricha district. Moreover, linear regression model outputs for the relationship between rainfall and crop yields indicate that rainfall variability has been significantly affecting agricultural productivity in the district. Results from the multinomial logistic model for multi-choice coping/adaptation mechanisms also show that different socio- economic factors such as education level and age of household head, family size, farm income and livestock ownership affect how households cope with extreme climate events. This research suggests that policies should introduce adaptation measures outlined by existing rural communities such as inter-cropping, livelihood diversification and early maturing crops to incorporate indigenous knowledge to ensure food security and sustain the economic growth of the country.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Berhanu Majo
    Y1  - 2021/08/27
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    SN  - 2640-1150
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    AB  - The rapid growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels is raising the Earth’s temperature and leading to climate change. This results in variability in precipitation, the prevalence of more extreme weather events, and shifting seasons. The accelerating pace of climate change, combined with population growth, will also threaten food security. Climate change will result in irreparable ecological degradation and possibly the reduction of agricultural productivity in many parts of the World with serious consequences for food security. This paper investigated the impacts of climate variability on food security and coping mechanisms of farmers in Boricha district of Ethiopia by using meteorological, agricultural and socio-economic survey data. The study employed various data analysis methods such as computing the coefficient of rainfall variability, estimating the impact of rainfall and temperature change on agricultural productivity, and analyzing coping strategies of the local communities in response to climate extreme events. The coefficient of rainfall variation results show that rainfall variability has significant and negative impacts on agricultural productivity in the Boricha district. Moreover, linear regression model outputs for the relationship between rainfall and crop yields indicate that rainfall variability has been significantly affecting agricultural productivity in the district. Results from the multinomial logistic model for multi-choice coping/adaptation mechanisms also show that different socio- economic factors such as education level and age of household head, family size, farm income and livestock ownership affect how households cope with extreme climate events. This research suggests that policies should introduce adaptation measures outlined by existing rural communities such as inter-cropping, livelihood diversification and early maturing crops to incorporate indigenous knowledge to ensure food security and sustain the economic growth of the country.
    VL  - 5
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Author Information
  • Biology Department, Hawassa College of Teacher Education, Hawassa, Ethiopia

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