Influence of Farmers’ Socio-economic Characteristics in Selection of Climate Change Adaptive Strategies

Climate change is a global phenomenon that has been of great concern and its tackle is of outmost importance for food security and poverty alleviation among other things. This paper assessed the decisions informing selection of climate change adaptive strategies in Limpopo Province based on farmers’ socio-economic characteristics. Data was collected from all five districts of Limpopo province namely; Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Mopani, Capricorn and Vhembe. A questionnaire administered in a face to face interviews was used to collect data on various climate change adaptive strategies used by emerging farmers in Limpopo province of South Africa. The most identified strategies identified were crop diversification, substitution of crops, calendar redefinition, changing crop rotation patterns and fertilizer application. Results from the multinomial logistic regression model employed indicated that farmers’ socio-economic characteristics such as gender, age group, formal education, farming experience and household size significantly influenced farmers’ selection of climate change adaptive strategies. As a conclusion, farmers’ socio-economic characteristics are the major influencing factors determining selection of specific adaptive strategies. The study recommended that to enhance adaptive strategy uptake there should be a careful consideration of socio-economic characteristics that suits a need of specific farmers as farmers’ adaptation to climate change varies individually.