Assessment of Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Variability of Smallholder Dry Bean Farmers in Hoima District, Uganda

The adverse effects of climate change and variability have affected crop production through the increasing erratic rainfall, drought, floods, pests, and diseases that have significantly reduced crop yields in many places including Uganda. The present study assessed the adaptation strategies and perceptions of smallholder dry bean farmers in Hoima district in Western Uganda to climate change and variability. A total of 90 households from three sub-counties of Buhimba, Kiziranfumbi, and Kyangwali were randomly selected and interviewed. The farmers’ perceived climate change as increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall which was in agreement with the scientific trends for the historical rainfall and temperature data in Hoima district. The findings further indicated that 63% and 56% of the respondants used several adaptation strategies to respond to temperature and rainfall changes respectively. The smallholder farmers changed planting dates frequently and employed early planting, spraying, crop diversification, and improved crop varieties in response to the impacts of climate change and climate variability in the zone. The findings further showed that 94.4% of the respondents had not heard about agricultural insurance. The low awareness about agricultural insurance adaptation strategy amongst the smallholder farmers requires critical attention by Government and private sector involved in delivering insurance products to farmers. Results from the logistic regression model revealed that access to inputs, sources of off-farm income, land ownership, and access to credit significantly and positively influences farmers’ decisions to adopt various adaptation strategies to minimise the impacts of climate change and climate variability. It was recommended that these factors limiting adaptation need to be addressed, and adaptation strategies enhanced to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability amongst the smallholder farmers in Hoima district.