Evaluating smallholder farmers' preferences for climate smart agricultural practices in Tehuledere District, northeastern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted in Tehuledere district, northeastern Ethiopia. The objective was to find out farmers' preferences for, and barriers to, adopting climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices. Both primary and secondary sources of data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Conjoint experiment method was employed to identify the most preferred attributes of CSA practices. We found that high and moderate climate resilience and high crop yield agricultural practices had a positive utility, implying that these were the most preferred combination of CSA when responding to climate change. Contrary to this, high greenhouse gas emissions, low climate resilience and low crop yield had a negative utility, implying that these were the least preferred combination of CSA when responding to climate change. The study found that crop yield and resilience are the most important factors influencing farmers' preferences for CSA practices. The main barriers limiting wide adoption and practicing of CSA include inadequate law enforcement, lack of incentives, inadequate and unreliable extension and weather information. The study established that CSA practices were viable and effective response measures, hence increased support through adoption of innovative technologies, policies and strategies to address the barriers and widen the adoption scope of CSA is recommended.