Farmers’ perceptions of climate variability and adaptation strategies in the rural areas of Dire Dawa administration, eastern Ethiopia

Climate variability has significant impact on agricultural production especially in low-income countries where agriculture largely relies on rainfall, but only a few studies explored this issue at local scale. Therefore, this study was conducted to characterize local climate and assess farmers' perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate variability in the rural areas of Dire Dawa administration. Historical rainfall and temperature data (1987–2017) were obtained from National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia, while data of farmers' perceptions and adaptation strategies were collected from a total of 120 household heads through survey questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed that the area received an average annual rainfall of 568.3 mm with main rainy season (kiremt) contributing 70.7% to annual rainfall. The earliest and latest onset dates of kiremt season were 15(th) of April and 2(nd) of August, respectively. The amount of annual and kiremt rainfall totals showed low and medium variability with a coefficient variability (CV) of 18.3% and 27.7%, respectively, whereas short rainy season (belg) rainfall had high variability with a CV of 43.9%. Climate variability perception analysis showed that an overwhelming majority of the respondents (90%) perceived a decrease in the annual rainfall and 91.7% detected an increase in annual average temperature in the study area. Farmers of the study area were well aware of the changes in rainfall and temperature and thus employed a range of adaptation practices. Soil and water conservation practices (100%), off-farm income diversification (63%), planting drought-tolerant varieties (50%) and changing of planting date (45%) were the main adaptation strategies employed in the study area to avert the negative effects of climate variability. The findings imply that the area has been experiencing palpable changes in climate variables during the study period against which farmers exercised multiple adaptation strategies. However, farmers in the area are still face hardship as a result of climate variability which necessitates improving farmers’ resilience through innovative mechanisms and better extension services.