Barriers to climate change adaptation among crop farmers in Kamuli district:

Abstract

The study is about barriers to climate change adaptation among crop farmers. A case study of Namasagali Sub County. The research main objective was to assess the barriers to climate change adaptation among crop farmers. The study used a cross sectional research design with a combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire, interview guide and observation. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select 60 households located in Namasagali Sub County Kamuli district. The data was analysed using EXCEL. The results from the study reveal that climate change is a serious problem in the area. The findings also indicate that farmers frequently worry about climate change. The results also indicate that in order to reduce the effects of climate change such as reduced crop yields, increased crop pests and disease prevalence, crop farmers have adopted various climate change adaptation strategies such as planting resistant crops, mixed cropping, planting improved crop varieties and others. However, results indicate that majority of the people in the area have not been trained in these strategies and thus they are not aware of the existing climate change adaptation strategies. Furthermore, the results indicate that lack of financial resources, limited extension services, limited knowledge on climate change adaptation strategies are some of the barriers to climate change adaptation in the area. Therefore, basing on the findings, I recommend that the government should promote extension services in various parts of the country especially the rural areas, support different farmer groups, and provide training on various climate change adaptation strategies. This will enable people reduce effects of climate change to their major source of livelihood and improve their standards of living and wellbeing of the community at large.