Determinant Factors of Rice Farmers’ Selection of Adaptation Methods to Climate Change in Eastern Rwanda

초록

The negative impact of climate change on the agricultural sector is rapidly increasing, and it is urgent to prepare policies at the government level to mitigate it. In the case of Rwanda’s agricultural sector, which lacks the government’s budget and farmers’ capital, efficient and effective policy implementation is of paramount importance. To this end, rather than establishing related policies in the public sector from the top down, it is necessary to establish a bottom-up customized policy that is reflected in policy establishment by identifying the characteristics and behaviors of farmers who actually participate in adaptation activities. In this study, the effects of farmers’ characteristics and farmers’ perception status/adaptation status to climate change on the selection of adaptation methods for climate change were analyzed. 357 rice farmers randomly selected from Eastern Rwanda were surveyed to explore the information related to farmers’ perception to climate change and adaptation methods as well as basic information of the farm. Research shows that the probability of selecting a variety of adaptation methods rather than not responding to climate change increases the younger the age, the higher the education level, and the easier access to climate information and credit. As a policy proposals, it is judged that public support such as strengthening agricultural technology support services, including more detailed guidance for elderly and low-educated farmers, and improving access to farm loan services by agricultural financial institutions is needed. In addition, it is necessary to adjust the planting time and cultivation method, provide timely information related to climate change, and provide crop variety improvement services to farmers.

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