Smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change and the perceived effectiveness of adaptation practices in Kitgum District, northern Uganda
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Date
2025-12-17
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Geographical Review
Abstract
Climate change continues to disproportionately affect smallholder
farmers, given their dependence on rain-fed agriculture and con
strained adaptive capacity. This paper examines the smallholder
farmers’ perceptions of climate change and the perceived effective
ness of adaptation practices. Data were collected from a sample of
349 respondents using a structured survey questionnaire.
Purposive sampling was used to select participants for key infor
mant interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative data
were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic
regression, and Friedman test, while thematic-content analysis
was used to analyze qualitative data. All households were aware
of climate change, mainly perceived as a decrease in rainfall and an
increase in temperature over the past 30 years. Households with
livestock production perceived a decrease in rainfall (p <0.000), and
the age group ranging from 35 to 44 years perceived increase in
temperatures (p < 0.036). Majority (95%) of the respondents
reported planting drought-resistant varieties and using improved
seeds (87%). Four paired adaptation practices were statistically
significant (p <0.000) and perceived to be effective by households.
The study recommends climate awareness programs through tar
geted climate education and awareness campaigns for younger
farmers and women to bridge perception gaps and enhance effec
tive adaptation practices.
Description
Keywords
Climate change, perceptions, effectiveness, adaptations, smallholder, farmers