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Farmers’ awareness and perception of climate change impacts: case study of Aguie district in Niger

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Abstract

The agricultural sector is the main source of rural households’ food and revenue in Niger, and it contributes approximately 43% to the national GDP. However, there are several constraints to the sector’s development, including negative impacts of climate change. To mitigate these impacts, farmers implement a range of technical strategies. The extent of farmer’s awareness and perceptions of climate change impacts influences these strategies and hence farmers’ level of adaptation. This study was undertaken to assess farmers’ awareness and perceptions of climate change impacts in Aguie Department, Niger Republic. Descriptive statistics and a regression model were used for data analysis. The results from a descriptive analysis show that the majority of respondents (84.4%) were aware of climate risks, but had differing perceptions of climate change impacts on production and annual revenue. A regression test revealed that climate-related information is highly significant in determining farmers’ awareness of climate change impacts. Most of the respondents reported negative impacts from climate change, and the majority, therefore, adjusted their farming system, albeit at different levels. A probit analysis shows that awareness, perception, education, crop production, soil fertility and annual revenue are highly influential on farmers’ climate change impacts adaptation. This research highlights farmer awareness and perceptions as key factors in the climate change impacts adaptation debate. The findings reveal that effective adaptation to climate change impacts is highly dependent on the extent of community awareness and how farmers perceive the impacts of climate change. The study highlights that institutions targeting households’ livelihood improvement and making decisions concerning climate change adaptation need to focus on media outreach in local languages, improving locally adapted extension services, and developing water use efficiency measures such as improved irrigation for effective and long-term adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

This study, part of Ph.D. study, is supported by College of Humanities and Development studies (COHD) at China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Partial funding for analysis time for the third author was provided by Dryland Development Programme (Drydev) and the European Union Land Restoration Project. Dr. John A. Meadows for proofreading and editing the paper. We would like to thank our supervisor for his patience, guidance and useful critiques. Thanks are due to John Meadows for proofreading and editing this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan-Ming-yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Abdou Matsalabi Ado, Li Bo & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah

  2. China Eco-compensation Policy Research Center (CEPRC), College of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuan-Ming-yuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Jin Leshan

  3. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), West and Central, Africa Regional Office - Sahel Node, BP E5118, Bamako, Mali

    Patrice Savadogo

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  1. Abdou Matsalabi Ado
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Correspondence to Jin Leshan.

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Ado, A.M., Leshan, J., Savadogo, P. et al. Farmers’ awareness and perception of climate change impacts: case study of Aguie district in Niger. Environ Dev Sustain 21, 2963–2977 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0173-4

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