Agroecological variations in the rural household resilience to climate change in Gubalafto District, Ethiopia

Abstract

Climate change poses significant challenges for rural households, particularly in farming communities, leading to crop loss and reduced incomes that threaten livelihoods. This study analyzed resilience capacity of rural households to climate change, the case of Gubalafto distracts, Ethiopia. Moreover, the study examined the effect of agroecological differences on the households' resilience level. The study utilized a survey research design, in which gathering data from 355 households selected through random surveys. Principal component analysis, analysis of covariance, and descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data. This study presents an estimation of the overall household resilience capacity, derived from three key dimensions of resilience: absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities. The analysis revealed significant loadings for these dimensions, with values of 0.612, 0.534, and 0.583, respectively, indicating their importance in building resilience capacity. Moreover, findings reveal that 44% of households were found to be have a low resilience capacity index (RCI), while 37% and 19% were a medium, high, with an overall mean RCI of 0.33. Surprisingly, lowland households demonstrated a higher average climate resilience score compared to midland and highland households, with p-values of 0.02 and 0.001, respectively. However, no significant difference was found between midland and highland households. Relevant institutions should prioritize investments in communication infrastructure, institutional services, and social safety nets. Particular emphasis should be given due emphasis to highland and midland agro-ecological zones, where targeted support is essential for strengthening household resilience capacities.