Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change and Adaptation Options in Southwest Cameroon

Determinants and Policy Implications of Farmers’ Climate Adaptation Choices in Rural Cameroon

“…The subdivision is a home to only two weather stations owned by the CDC, an indication of low climate infrastructures in the subdivision-an area of high agricultural activities. The Sub-division is made up of 18 villages and an estimated population size of 118,470 inhabitants [28] of a diverse ethnic representation drawn from within and without Cameroon comprising the Bangwas, Bamileke, Bikom, Mankon, Bafut, Ibo's, Ibiobos, Banyangs and Ejaghams [28] whose major activity is farming. Major crops cultivated include both cash crops (cocoa and palm oil) and food crops (plantain, cocoyam, bananas, yams and maize).…”

“…Cumulatively, 76.93% of farmers undertook one to four adaptations out of the 12 adaptation strategies, while 16.92% of farmers did not undertake any adaptation strategy. In a study in the Southwest region of Cameroon, up to 39% of the farmers studied were unable to adopt any adaptation option amidst climate change [27]. Also, a clear example of low adaptation uptake was recorded in a study in Buea where up to 48% of sampled farmers did not take any adaptation strategy amidst increasing temperatures observed in the area [13].…”

“…In the context of Cameroon, there is a dearth of information on the determinants of adaptation. Rather, most studies in Cameroon have focused on documenting the adaptation measures undertaken by farmers to climate change and the barriers linked to adaptation [11,13,27]. As if not enough, in the strive to solve climate change impacts on agricultural households in rural Cameroon, policy conceptions are rather macro than micro, and not concise but are rather interwoven in different text such as the country's Growth and Employment Strategic Paper [14].…”

“…These policy responses have been insufficient or unable to address issues of climate adaptation, implying that more research is needed to unravel the determinants of adaptation with a view to further inform policy responses. Even in recent studies on climate change within rural Cameroon (including Muyuka subdivision), the focus has been more on assessing the perceptions of climate change and a qualitative analysis of adaptation options undertaken by farmers [13,27], but little or no studies have focused on attempting a quantitative assessment of the determinants of farmers' climate change adaptation choices. We make a contribution in the context of rural Cameroon by analyzing household determinants of adaptation and their implications for policy towards achieving resilience in agricultural communities.…”