Linking Traditional Agroforestry to Livelihood Diversification in a Changing Climate in Silti District, Northern Ethiopia
The influences of climate change which are mainly characterized as impulsive rainfall, variable temperatures, and unpredictable seasonal change, have unpleasantly affected the livelihood of smallholder farmers, calling for urgent climate change responses. This practice has long maintained rural livelihoods in Siltie district, which intern secure food demand and ecological resilience. Climate conditions being superfluously variable, needs deep understanding of how this practice could act vitally as livelihood diversification and designing sustainable adaptation practices. Hence, the present study examines the contribution of traditional agroforestry practice to livelihood diversification in the face of climate change in Siltie District, southern Ethiopia. Three Kebeles and a total of 184 households and key informants were selected (systematic random sampling) for the interview based on the CIFOR PEN (Poverty Environment Network) prototype, a checklist and questionnaire were developed, and a survey was conducted. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the majority of respondents have confirmed the occurrence of climate change, reflected in a decrease in precipitation (65%) and an increase in temperature (75%), which correlate with meteorological data. The result shows that reduced crop productivity is the most commonly reported impact of climate change (84%), while increased frequency of flooding (74.6%) and drought (65.41%) are the second and third largest impacts of climate change, respectively. Approximately 95 respondents considered agroforestry systems (AFS) to be economically important during extreme climate events, while 42 respondents considered them less important. The most common AFS used to generate cash during floods and droughts in the study area were fruit trees and trees for construction. Therefore, the study suggests that AFS play an important role in diversifying farmers' income and reducing risks associated with various climate change challenges and suggests future adaptation design should consider the practice as a sustainable response mechanism.