Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan
Climate change is a global environmental threat to all economic sectors, particularly the agricultural sector. Pakistan is one of the countries negatively affected by climate change due to its high exposure to extreme events and low adaptive capacity. In Pakistan, farmers are the primary stakeholder...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2015-05-01
|
| Series: | Earth System Dynamics |
| Online Access: | http://www.earth-syst-dynam.net/6/225/2015/esd-6-225-2015.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819053377159430144 |
|---|---|
| author | M. Abid J. Scheffran U. A. Schneider M. Ashfaq |
| author_facet | M. Abid J. Scheffran U. A. Schneider M. Ashfaq |
| author_sort | M. Abid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change is a global environmental threat to all economic sectors,
particularly the agricultural sector. Pakistan is one of the countries negatively
affected by climate change due to its high exposure to extreme
events and low adaptive capacity. In Pakistan, farmers are the primary
stakeholders in agriculture and are more at risk due to climate
vulnerability. Based on farm household data from 450 households collected
from three districts in three agroecological zones in the Punjab province of
Pakistan, this study examines how farmers perceive climate change and how
they adapt their farming in response to perceived changes in climate. The
results demonstrate that awareness of climate change is widespread throughout the area,
and farm households make adjustments to adapt their agriculture in response
to climatic change. Overall 58% of the farm households adapted their
farming to climate change. Changing crop varieties, changing planting dates,
planting of shade trees and changing fertilizers were the main adaptation
methods implemented by farm households in the study area. The results from the
binary logistic model reveal that education, farm experience, household
size, land area, tenancy status, ownership of a tube well, access to market
information, information on weather forecasting and agricultural
extension services all influence
farmers' choices of adaptation measures. The results also indicate that
adaptation to climate change is constrained by several factors such as lack
of information, lack of money, resource constraints and shortage of
irrigation water in the study area. Findings of the study suggest the need
for greater investment in farmer education and improved institutional setup
for climate change adaptation to improve farmers' wellbeing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:34:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb5e114ddee245f484de2914acfc8c2a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2190-4979 2190-4987 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:34:45Z |
| publishDate | 2015-05-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth System Dynamics |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb5e114ddee245f484de2914acfc8c2a2022-12-21T19:03:57ZengCopernicus PublicationsEarth System Dynamics2190-49792190-49872015-05-016122524310.5194/esd-6-225-2015Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, PakistanM. Abid0J. Scheffran1U. A. Schneider2M. Ashfaq3Research Group Climate Change and Security, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Grindelberg 7, 20144 Hamburg, GermanyResearch Group Climate Change and Security, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Grindelberg 7, 20144 Hamburg, GermanyResearch Unit Sustainability and Global Change, University of Hamburg, Grindelberg 5, 20144 Hamburg, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanClimate change is a global environmental threat to all economic sectors, particularly the agricultural sector. Pakistan is one of the countries negatively affected by climate change due to its high exposure to extreme events and low adaptive capacity. In Pakistan, farmers are the primary stakeholders in agriculture and are more at risk due to climate vulnerability. Based on farm household data from 450 households collected from three districts in three agroecological zones in the Punjab province of Pakistan, this study examines how farmers perceive climate change and how they adapt their farming in response to perceived changes in climate. The results demonstrate that awareness of climate change is widespread throughout the area, and farm households make adjustments to adapt their agriculture in response to climatic change. Overall 58% of the farm households adapted their farming to climate change. Changing crop varieties, changing planting dates, planting of shade trees and changing fertilizers were the main adaptation methods implemented by farm households in the study area. The results from the binary logistic model reveal that education, farm experience, household size, land area, tenancy status, ownership of a tube well, access to market information, information on weather forecasting and agricultural extension services all influence farmers' choices of adaptation measures. The results also indicate that adaptation to climate change is constrained by several factors such as lack of information, lack of money, resource constraints and shortage of irrigation water in the study area. Findings of the study suggest the need for greater investment in farmer education and improved institutional setup for climate change adaptation to improve farmers' wellbeing.http://www.earth-syst-dynam.net/6/225/2015/esd-6-225-2015.pdf |
| spellingShingle | M. Abid J. Scheffran U. A. Schneider M. Ashfaq Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan Earth System Dynamics |
| title | Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan |
| title_full | Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan |
| title_short | Farmers' perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants: the case of Punjab province, Pakistan |
| title_sort | farmers perceptions of and adaptation strategies to climate change and their determinants the case of punjab province pakistan |
| url | http://www.earth-syst-dynam.net/6/225/2015/esd-6-225-2015.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mabid farmersperceptionsofandadaptationstrategiestoclimatechangeandtheirdeterminantsthecaseofpunjabprovincepakistan AT jscheffran farmersperceptionsofandadaptationstrategiestoclimatechangeandtheirdeterminantsthecaseofpunjabprovincepakistan AT uaschneider farmersperceptionsofandadaptationstrategiestoclimatechangeandtheirdeterminantsthecaseofpunjabprovincepakistan AT mashfaq farmersperceptionsofandadaptationstrategiestoclimatechangeandtheirdeterminantsthecaseofpunjabprovincepakistan |