Smallholder Farmers’ Perception and Adaptation to Climate Change in Tropical African Rural Communities: A Primer for Collaborative Policy Intervention

Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah, David Appiah, Timothy Apeanti, Peter Dok Tindan

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Climate change and variability presents a set of new obstacles that smallholder farmers, especially, those in developing countries will have to confront in the twenty-first century and beyond. This chapter presents smallholder farmers’ perception and understanding of climate change. This chapter discusses determinants and the contextualized adaptation strategies as well as the alternative livelihoods available to smallholder farmers using the case of a rural community from Ghana. A case study design employing both qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted for the research. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample 152 household heads from the study area. Data was collected using survey questionnaire. Another thirty-seven (37) participants were purposively selected for in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The quantitative data was analyzed using Chi-square test while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. This chapter demonstrates that smallholder farmers possess adequate understanding and knowledge on climate change elements and such worldview is supported by meteorological data obtained from the Ghana Meteorological Agency. There is no significant relationship between male and female farmers with regards to their perception and understanding of climate change, adaptation, and coping mechanisms. The chapter recommends for government policies to integrate both scientific knowledge and local perception in order to deal with climate change and variability holistically.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook of Climate Change Management
Subtitle of host publicationResearch, Leadership, Transformation
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages5013-5032
Number of pages20
Volume6
ISBN (Electronic)9783030572815
ISBN (Print)9783030572808
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2021

Keywords

  • Adaptation
  • Alternative livelihood
  • Climate change
  • Perceptions
  • Variability

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