Farmers' perceptions of impacts of climate variability on agriculture and adaptation strategies in Songkhla Lake basin

Abstract

In the past decade, there have been signs of climate variability that might have already affected certain aspects of the Songkhla Lake basin. This research was conducted to 1) identify the key problems of climate variability on the agricultural activities of farmers, 2) assess farmers' perceptions of the negative impacts of climate variability on agricultural activities, and 3) propose a set of adaptation strategies for agricultural development in the Songkhla Lake basin. Data were collected using structured interviews from a total sample of 271 farmers selected using the purposive and snowball techniques. The arithmetic mean was applied for data analysis. It was found that the key problem of climate variability on the agricultural activities of farmers in the Songkhla Lake basin was a reduction in crop yields. Farmers involved in fruit production, and fisheries suffered the most negative impacts of climate variability. The negative impacts of climate variability on para-rubber production, rice production, and oil palm production were at a high level. Five adaptation strategies for agricultural development were identified: 1) enhancement of capacity in impact assessment, 2) prevention and avoidance of negative impacts, 3) mitigation of negative impacts, 4) reduction of loss from negative impacts, and 5) rehabilitation of devastated areas and other losses. Furthermore, relevant agencies should campaign to raise awareness and understanding by farmers in terms of climate variability.