Características de la zona de estudio

Studies on the perception of climate change in Africa have generally taken a psychometric approach (Deressa et al., 2011; Mustapha et al., 2012; Amdu et al., 2013; Belaineh et al., 2013) and only a few a cultural approach (Teka and Vogt, 2010). With a focus on the inherently climate-sensitive rural sector, studies have identified a complex set of farm, household and institutional factors affecting communities’ perception of climate change and its associated impact on local agriculture and livelihoods (Semenza et al., 2008; Sampei and Aoyagi-Usui, 2009; Ndambiri et al., 2012; Silvestri et al., 2012) and subsequent decisions to adapt (Maddison, 2007; Hassan and Nhemachena, 2008; Deressa et al., 2009; Gbetibouo et al., 2010; Gandure et al., 2013).

There is clear evidence that education level significantly affects the farmers’ perception of climate change among African small-scale farmers and it has been assumed that education increases awareness level and human capacity to process information (Maddison, 2007; Gbetibouo, 2009; Mustapha et al., 2012). In contrast, other studies found no evidence that education level had any significant influence on farmers’ views about ongoing local climate change in the highlands of Ethiopia (Deressa et al., 2011) and South Africa (Gbetibouo, 2009). Instead, these studies attributed perception of climate change to other farm, household and institutional factors such as farm income, age of farmers and access to support services.

Various studies conducted for African farming systems indicated that those farmers with extensive experience in farming were more likely to notice local climate change and take measures to adapt than those with limited farm experience (Maddison, 2007; Silvestri et al.,

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2012). This greater perception of experienced farmers is mainly linked to their ability to detect over time the impact of climate change on sensitive rainfed production systems and associated livelihoods. In contrast, Gbetibouo (2009) reported no statistical difference between experienced and inexperienced farmers in South Africa.

The financial well-being of African farmers is reflected by the combination of their farm and non-farm incomes and strongly influences their ability to bear farming-related risks such as climate change (Belaineh et al., 2013). It has been reported that both farm and non-farm income levels dictate farmer perception of climate change and its impacts (Deressa et al., 2011; Osbahr et al., 2011; Ndambiri et al., 2012). In particular, non-farm income has the potential to buffer farm income losses and these farmers are less likely to be aware of climate change and its associated impacts on local agriculture. Financial well-being, however, is not always reported as influencing climate change perception. In a study of Kenyan farmers, they did not appear to be influenced by either their farm or non-farm income (Silvestri et al., 2012).

Traditional farmers in Africa depend on extensive grazing and traditional livestock feeding systems that are strongly reliant on natural resources with little or no alternative feeding strategies (Davies et al., 2010). The availability of these resources are closely tied to local weather conditions and as such, any fluctuations in climatic conditions will have implications on the availability of these natural resources(Osbahr et al., 2011). Research has shown that livestock ownership can increase the propensity of discerning climate risk and the likelihood of adopting adaptive measures (Lesnoff et al., 2012; Belaineh et al., 2013).

Different agroecologies embrace various agricultural production and management systems that demonstrate different degrees of vulnerability and elicit different responses to climate change (Kassie et al., 2009). Deressa et al. (2011) reported that local agroecological conditions significantly influenced how farmers in the Nile basin of Ethiopia discern local changes in climate. As might be expected, farmers in inherently low rainfall and moisture stress areas discern changes in climate more readily than their counterparts in high rainfall areas.

Access to climate information is hypothesized to improve the climate change awareness of African farmers as it makes information on past, present and the future climate available for farmers’ utilization and decision-making (Hassan and Nhemachena, 2008; Silvestri et al., 2012). Bryan et al. (2009) reported that in Ethiopia and South Africa access to accurate climate forecasts improved farmers’ awareness of and adaptive responses to climate change risk. Lack of climate early warning systems and unreliability of seasonal forecasts in Ethiopia were found to be barriers to awareness and adaptation actions (Deressa et al., 2011; Gandure

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et al., 2013). Extension services in Africa (training days, workshops, farm visits, farmer-to- farmer exchange visits and the setting up of farmer research groups) facilitate the sharing of different perceptions, experiences and types of decision making (Hassan and Nhemachena, 2008; Silvestri et al., 2012). However, this context for the sharing of useful information is often limited as there is poor institutional capacity to deliver extension services (Maddison, 2007).

Claims by farmers of climate change expressed in terms if increased temperatures or less rainfall may or may not be substantiated by meteorological evidence. In case studies from Uganda Osbahr et al. (2011) and the Limpopo River Basin, South Africa Gbetibouo (2009) claims made by farmers in terms of increased temperature and variability in rainfall did tally with meteorological evidence and that local climate has shifted to a less favourable one for agricultural production. In contrast, Maddison (2007) reported that climate change perception of African farmers did not tally with evidence from weather monitoring stations. Both Maddison 2007 and Patt and Schröter (2008) suggests that the mismatch between the farmers’ perception of climate change and evidence from climate records suggests that farmers are more influenced by past experience and future uncertainty than actual climate data. There are two important caveats that should be considered when comparing perceived change against observed meteorological records, particularly for Africa (Maddison, 2007; Zampaligré et al., 2014).

The first caveat is that significant climatic events within a given study period can be obscured because climate change is determined from changes in average conditions based on long-term climate records. For instance, farmers are arguably better positioned to recall past extreme events such as floods, hurricanes and droughts than average long-term climate trends (Osbahr et al., 2011). The second caveat is that climate change analyses often use data from scattered meteorological stations and tend to hide spatial heterogeneity across microclimates. Microclimates created by variation in topography, large bodies of water and soil type can significantly modify the climate. The task of understanding gets even more difficult when climate scientists sometimes provide conflicting reports on similar issues (Bryan et al., 2009; Raymond and Robinson, 2013).

2.4 Options for and barriers to adaptation in Ethiopian agriculture