Assessment of training needs for climate change adaptation among farmers in Kyangwali Sub-county, Kikuube district

Abstract

There is an increase in vulnerability of small scale farmers in Uganda to climate change impacts. This is due to high exposure to the climate change impacts and ineffectiveness of the farmer’s adaptation strategies, and inappropriate interventions from government and Non-governmental organizations. This is likely to affect community livelihoods due to increased food insecurity and reduced household incomes. Therefore, the main research objective was to identify gaps in the farmers’ adaptations strategies, specifically training needs among farmers in kyangwali sub county, Kikuube district, as a determinant for successful and effective climate change adaptation. The specific objectives were; evaluating adaptation practices employed by farmers to climate change impacts, and determining the skills needed by farmers for effective adaptation to climate change impacts. A survey was used to collect information about training needs from 100 households selected randomly from 10 villages in Kyangwali Sub County, Kikuube district. The research results mainly indicate 98% of the farmers change crop varieties, 95% carry out mixed farming and 87% of farmer plant early maturing crops as adaptation to climate impacts. However, 100% of the respondents expressed a need for training to improve their adaptation practices. Specifically, 100% need training about irrigation skills, soil and water conservation, Agroforestry, Plant of short season variety, and 98% in drought resistant varieties. Therefore, major training gaps were identified in several practices like irrigation, soil and water conservation, early planting, different crop varieties, agroforestry and tree planting. Training is an important determinant of successful and effective climate change adaptation. Given the results from the research, a key recommendation is that the concerned authorities like government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), ought to formulate relevant trainings addressing the identified skills gap in adaptation practices employed by farmers.