Confronting climate change and livelihood: smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies in northeastern Burundi

Rain-fed agriculture is the main source of livelihood for most of Burundi’s population, especially in the northeastern part of the country. This research is aimed at examining how smallholder farmers in the Northeastern region of Burundi perceive climate change and variability and at identifying the methods that are used to adapt, based on data from 200 small farmers and on actual weather data recorded between 1986 and 2017. We find that the majority of farmers (54%) perceive significant increases in temperature and unpredictability of rainfall duration and intensity and are making adjustments to adapt their agriculture in response to changes in climate. Over 80% of farmers have implemented at least one adaptation strategy among the nine evaluated. Changing crop varieties, changing fertilizers, and planting shade trees are the main adaptation strategies that were being implemented by farmers across the study area. The results of a binary regression model showed that the agricultural education and experience of farmers, as well as farm and family size, livestock ownership, climate information access, credit access, and farm income, strongly influence smallholder farmers’ decisions to adapt to climate change. The main obstacles are the lack of information on climate and adaptation strategies, and poverty, which makes it difficult to cope with the increased costs of farming. Understanding farmers’ perceptions of climate change and variability on a local level would provide information on how to develop adaptation strategies. The present study suggests the need for strengthening farmers’ capacities and improving the policy framework for adaptation to climate change in order to improve farmers’ livelihoods. Implications for policymakers will, therefore, include making flexible credit facilities, and investing in training extension agents on both climate change outreach and coping strategies.