Factors inﬂuencing smallholder farmers' behavioural intention

Thursday, 25 May 2017 Read 1167 times Written by TCCN

Factors inﬂuencing smallholder farmers' behavioural intention towards adaptation to climate change in transitional climatic zones: A case study of Hwedza District in Zimbabwe

Byron Zamasiya, MSC *, Kefasi Nyikahadzoi, Ph.D, Billy Billiard Mukamuri, Ph.D

Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper examines factors inﬂuencing behavioural change among smallholder farmers towards adaptation to climate change in transitional climatic zones of Africa, speciﬁcally, Hwedza District in Zimbabwe. Data for this study were collected from 400 randomly-selected smallholder farmers, using a structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The study used an or- dered logit model to examine the factors that inﬂuence smallholder farmers' behavioural intention to- wards adaptation to climate change. Results from the study show that the gender of the household head, access to extension services on crop and livestock production, access to climate information, membership to social groups and experiencing a drought have a positive inﬂuence on farmers' attitude towards adaptation to climate change and variability. The study concluded that although the majority of small- holder farmers perceive that the climate is changing, they continue to habour negative attitudes towards prescribed climate change adaptation techniques. This study recommends more education on climate change, as well as adaptation strategies for both agricultural extension workers and farmers. This can be complemented by disseminating timely climate information through extension ofﬁcers and farmers’ groups.

Corresponding author.

E-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (B. Zamasiya).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: www.elsev i er.com/locat e/jenvman

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.073