Perception of the impacts of climate and environmental variability on water availability, irrigation and farming systems: a study in rural households of Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Climate and environmental change are critical factors affecting water resources, irrigation and farming systems in Ethiopia as most of the population and the country's economy depend on agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate farmers' perceptions of climate and environmental change and impacts of those changes on their farming systems, water resources, and irrigation. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire to interview a total of 201 rural households from nine different villages in Awash River Basin (ARB), Ethiopia. The data collected was analysed by descriptive statistics, quantitative data analysis and multinominal logistic regression using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. About 80, 97 and 98% of the respondents perceived the occurrence of climate variability in the Upper, Middle and Lower ARBs, respectively. Between 68 and 80% of the respondents noted that they had observed variable rainfall (either an increase or a decrease) during different seasons of the year. More than 70% of the respondents also confirmed that there was temperature change in their areas. The high awareness of climate change and environmental variability by farmers in the ARB may help decision and policymakers in establishing participatory climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.