Determinants of Farmers’ Crop Management Strategies to Climate Change in Northwest Ethiopia: The Role of Agro-ecological Zones

Abstract

 Climate change is a major, constant threat to farmers globally, especially in less developed countries like Ethiopia. This study examined how farmers choose adaptation methods, recognizing that their ability to adapt is heavily determined by their local social, economic, and environmental conditions, including their agro-ecological zone. The study surveyed 525 farm household heads selected using a systematic random sampling method in Northwest Ethiopia. Instead of using one general model, the study ran a set of seven distinct Binary Logistic Regression Models (for a specific strategy (Yes/No)) to find the factors driving each choice. This prevents the error of grouping separate decisions together. The finding reveals that using these strategies is a complex process influenced by both factors those help and holdback farmers. Major limiting factors include repeated drought, poor land quality, water scarcity, lack of timely weather information, top-down formal extension service, illiteracy, and limited financial services. However, agro-ecology and farmer-to-farmer extension are the strongest influencers across most strategies. This confirms that effective adaptation must be location-specific. Moreover, it relies on the farmers’ trust in the knowledge more shared by their peers than formal extension service. A key finding is that the reasons for adoption are unique to specific location and to each crop management strategy. Furthermore, planned adaptation is vital to protect the highly vulnerable lowland and midland areas, pointing to a major disconnect in formal, top-down government extension services. The study concludes that public efforts must be customized to match the specific problems and strategies of each location, mainly by supporting farmer networks for delivering information and services.