Perception of Impacts of Climate Variability on Pastoralists and Their Adaptation/Coping Strategies in Fentale District of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract Climate change has been threatening pastoral communities in Ethiopia as their economy is mainly based on rain-fed agriculture. The study area is one of the climate change prone area affected by climate induced shocks. To reduce the adverse effects of climate change, pastoral households need to recognize the changes already happening in their climate and employ climate change adaptation measures. Therefore, the present study was conducted in Fentale district, Central Ethiopia to determine the perceived adverse impacts of climate change and variability, the perception of pastoral households on the patterns of climate change and variability, and identify the adaptation/coping strategies of pastoralists to climate change impacts. A household questionnaire survey and focus group discussion were employed to collect primary data at a household level. A total of 130 pastoral households were sampled using random sampling. The data collected from household survey were analyzed using SPSS (version 20). The rainfall and temperature trends of the study area were analysed using Mann–Kendall test. The findings indicated significant decreasing trend of Belg rainfall and increasing trend of Kiremt rainfall for the period 1983–2017. The perception of pastoral households on rainfall and temperature trends was in line with the results of the recorded meteorological data analysis of the present study except the Kiremt rainfall and the long-term annual rainfall trends. The results indicated that pasture and water availability became scarce and livestock assets and productivity were highly reduced, due to adverse impacts of climate change and variability. The most important strategies deployed by the local people included (i) integrating livestock with crop production, (ii) livestock mobility, (iii) livestock diversification and herd composition change, (iv) decreased consumption, (v) remittance, (vi) cash for work and (vii) food aid. Therefore, the government should support and enhance household’s indigenous adaptation strategies through the provision of market access, early warning information, affordable credit access, and development of water points.