Impacts of climate change on food security in Alero Subcounty Nwoya district.

Abstract

Climate change still remains the biggest threat to achieving food security in the world. Climate change impacts on food security through affecting agriculture especially small holder farmers in Africa who are very vulnerable because of their reliance on rain fed agriculture. The aim of the study was to analyze the impacts of climate change on food security. The study used a descriptive research design to describe characteristics of the situation. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a selected sample of 50 households. Data collected using the questionnaires was analyzed by descriptive statistics in SPSS. The results of the study showed that all respondents had noticed climate changes. The majority of respondents noticed prolonged heat waves (88.0%), dry spells (84.0%), less frequent rains (78.0%), shorter lasting rains (68.0%) and unpredictable rains (52.0%). Farmers perceived drought and erratic seasons as the major challenges to food production resulting in low food quantities. The most affected crops were beans, maize and ground nuts. Low food access was the major challenge which was attributed by low yields, high prices and little income. The coping mechanisms used by farmers to climate change included obtaining climate information, early planting, using quality seeds, practicing re-afforestation and Agro-forestry, improving soil productivity, income diversification, increasing farmland, planting crop varieties, buying in bulk and improving technology. Majority of the farmers were coping to drought, erratic seasons, little income, low yields and high food prices. The study concluded that small holder farmers only noticed climate changes that has persisted for a long period of time and had direct effects on their livelihood activities.