Asfaw Amogne, Bantider Amare, Simane Belay, Hassen Ali
Wollo University (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies), Dessie, Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa University, College of Development Studies (Center for Food Security Studies), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2021 Apr 21;7(4):e06761. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06761. eCollection 2021 Apr.
Due to its climate-sensitive agricultural system and low adaptive capacity of the subsistence farmers, Ethiopia is cited among the countries experiencing frequent drought and highly vulnerable to climate change associated impacts. Micro level vulnerability assessment, in the context of a changing climate, has a paramount significance in designing policies addressing climate change induced effects. Assessing vulnerability to climate change is important for defining the risks posed by the change and it provides a starting point for the determination of effective means of promoting remedial actions to minimize impacts by supporting coping strategies and facilitating adaptation options targeted at specific context.
We employed cross-sectional survey research design has to examine the extent of livelihood vulnerability of 384 randomly selected smallholder farmers from three agroecologies which was supplemented by interviews. Livelihood vulnerability index, using integrated indicator approaches and principal component analysis, has been used. Chi-square test, F-test and t-test were used to examine association and mean differences among three agroecologies and between cropping types in terms of different attributes.
Overall, smallholder farmers living in kolla agroecology were found to be the most vulnerable to climate change induced hazards followed by dega. In terms of type of cropping season, belg dominated areas were relatively more vulnerable than those residing in meher dominated areas. Different biophysical and socio-economic attributes contributed their own role both for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity differences among smallholder farmers farming in different agroecologies and different types of cropping seasons.
We recommend that interventions undertaken to lessen the impact of climate change should be targeted to the factors which contribute to high extent of sensitivity and for those which could enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers. Specifically, we suggest that resilience-building adaptation interventions like expansion of small-scale irrigation, accessing of microfinance service, early warning and timely information, extension support, non-farm sources of income, training and skill development, expansion of infrastructure have to be promoted thereby increase the adaptive capacity of subsistence rainfed-dependent farmers to withstand the vagaries of the climate variability risk. Moreover, disparities in the same agroecology have to be addressed properly in livelihood vulnerability discourse.
由于其对气候敏感的农业系统以及自给农民的适应能力较低，埃塞俄比亚被列为经常遭受干旱且极易受到气候变化相关影响的国家之一。在气候变化背景下，微观层面的脆弱性评估对于制定应对气候变化影响的政策至关重要。评估气候变化脆弱性对于确定气候变化带来的风险很重要，它为确定有效手段提供了一个起点，这些手段旨在通过支持应对策略和促进针对特定背景的适应方案来推动补救行动，以尽量减少影响。
我们采用横断面调查研究设计，对从三种农业生态区随机选取的384名小农户的生计脆弱程度进行了调查，并辅以访谈。使用了综合指标法和主成分分析法的生计脆弱性指数。卡方检验、F检验和t检验用于检验三种农业生态区之间以及不同种植类型在不同属性方面的关联和均值差异。
总体而言，生活在科拉农业生态区的小农户被发现最易受到气候变化引发的危害，其次是德加。就种植季节类型而言，以贝尔格季为主的地区比以梅赫尔季为主的地区相对更脆弱。不同的生物物理和社会经济属性在不同农业生态区和不同种植季节类型的小农户的暴露度、敏感度和适应能力差异方面都发挥了各自的作用。
我们建议，为减轻气候变化影响而采取的干预措施应针对那些导致高度敏感的因素以及那些能够增强小农户适应能力的因素。具体而言，我们建议应推广诸如扩大小规模灌溉、获取小额金融服务、早期预警和及时信息、推广支持、非农业收入来源、培训和技能发展、扩大基础设施等增强复原力的适应干预措施，从而提高依赖雨水灌溉的自给农民抵御气候多变风险的适应能力。此外，在生计脆弱性讨论中必须妥善解决同一农业生态区内的差异问题。
