Influence of Cooperative Membership on the Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation: The case of Agricultural Cooperatives in selected district of Tigray region, Ethiopia

Abyssinia Mirutse Giday

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

Climate change in recent decades has been known to be a disastrous phenomenon, particularly affecting countries such as Ethiopia that depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihood, making climate change adaptation necessary. In this regard, agricultural cooperatives are considered important institutional mechanisms that connect farmers with extension services, inputs, and climate adaptation resources. Therefore, the main aim of this research was to explore the mechanisms through which cooperatives influence the awareness and adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers in the Mahbere Genet tabia of the Enderta district in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. This was done by employing a mixed-methods approach, combining expert interviews analysed through thematic analysis and quantitative survey data from 231 respondents analysed using descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with Multi-Group Analysis (MGA). The results of the research demonstrated that awareness levels of climate change adaptation strategies resided in generally moderate to high levels among both cooperative members and non-members, with non-members even showing higher awareness in some cases. On the other hand, the adoption rate was relatively high among the cooperative members for chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and rainwater harvesting techniques, which are regarded as resource-intensive strategies. Moreover, the findings from MGA analysis made it evident that in terms of structural paths, there were no statistically significant differences between cooperative members and non-members, which implied that the logic of how awareness translates to adoption is the same for both groups. In general, the findings from the study revealed that cooperatives have a supporting role rather than a central role in adaptation to climate change, and there is a need to strengthen their institutional capacity and autonomy, improve their coordination with extension services, and promote more sustainable agricultural practices.

Keywords

Capacity Building, Climate Information, Social Capital, Smallholder Farmers, Resilience

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 22. 4. 2026

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Ing. Jiří Hejkrlík, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Magisterský studijní program:
International Development and Agricultural Economics