Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture: The Case of Nepal, Czech Republic, and Nigeria

Ing. Steffen Münch

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

Climate change has disastrous effects on agricultural production. Increased extreme weather events like droughts threaten global food security and farmers' subsistence. Appropriate adaptation is crucial for farmers to cope with climate change's ongoing and predicted impacts. A precondition for adaptation readiness is knowledge of the subject. This dissertation assessed the degree of adaptation to and knowledge of climate change via three case studies in Nepal (South Asia), the Czech Republic (Central- and Eastern Europe), and Nigeria (Sub-Saharan Africa). The selection of various geo-climatic regions allowed to capture the current situation from a broader perspective, following the global implications of climate change. Quantitative data were collected individually through a semi-structured questionnaire survey in each study area. Case study 1 included 91 smallholder tea farmers in Nepal, case study 2 analyzed data gathered from 358 farmers throughout the Czech Republic, and case study 3 focused on farmers in Nigeria's dry and humid zones with a sample size of 1,080 respondents. While case studies 1 and 2 primarily concentrated on factors influencing the degree of climate change adaptation, the objectives of case study 3 centered on factors influencing farmers´ knowledge of climate change. The collected data was analyzed through basic descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and binary logit regression models. Empirical results show that membership in a cooperative and access to extension services positively influenced the degree of climate change adaptation among Nepalese tea farmers and the level of climate change knowledge among Nigerian farmers. Maintaining profitability was a primary driver for Czech farmers to adapt to climate change. The case studies further revealed that the low dissemination of information on technological innovations in agriculture requires appropriate information provision through feasible channels. Communicating the merits of adaptation would support faster adoption rates and increase the farmers' resilience toward the impacts of climate change. Another critical consideration is that regional differences can lead to significant variations in climate change knowledge among farmers. Policymakers are encouraged to base their interventions on regional conditions and tailor the provided information according to the specific needs of the target groups.

Keywords

Adaptation Strategies, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Diffusion of Innovations, Institutional Factors, Information Access

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 18. 3. 2024

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Miroslava Bavorová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Lukáš Čechura, Ph.D., prof. Ing., Prajal Pradhan, externi, Nils Teufel, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Doctoral programme:
Sustainable Rural Development