Farmers’ Knowledge and Perceptions of the Effects of Climate Variability and Pollution on Crop Production and Their Varying Adaptation Strategies in The Gambia

作     者：Pierre Anthony Mendy Mawa Kone Ado Baba Ahmed Sidat Yaffa Alpha Kargbo Afua Amponsah Amankwah Kossi-Messan Jacques Agboka Blessing Chinomso Okorie Assan Sowe Echene Jatta Pierre Anthony Mendy;Mawa Kone;Ado Baba Ahmed;Sidat Yaffa;Alpha Kargbo;Afua Amponsah Amankwah;Kossi-Messan Jacques Agboka;Blessing Chinomso Okorie;Assan Sowe;Echene Jatta

作者机构：Department of Physical and Natural Sciences School of Arts & Sciences University of The Gambia Banjul The Gambia West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) Department of Biosciences Universit Flix Houphout-Boigny Abidjan Cte dIvoire School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences University of The Gambia Banjul The Gambia School of Education University of The Gambia Banjul The Gambia Department of Sociology and Social Work College of Humanities and Social Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi Ghana 

出 版 物：《American Journal of Climate Change》 (美国气候变化期刊（英文）)

年 卷 期：2024年第13卷第3期

页      面：543-566页

学科分类：0202[经济学-应用经济学] 02[经济学] 020205[经济学-产业经济学] 

主　　题：Climate Change Extreme Weather Vulnerability Risks Hazards Adaptation Strategies 

摘      要：Crop and livestock production is critical to food security in The Gambia. Over the years, the country has experienced a reduced yield due to perceived climate change events with limited studies on how climate change and pollution affect crop production. This study assesses farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of the effects of climate variability and pollution on crop production and their varying adaptation strategies in The Gambia. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. The sample size for quantitative data collection was calculated as 432 while the qualitative data involves both the focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The focus group discussions comprised two districts in each of the six agricultural regions and two farming communities engaged in crop production were chosen from each district. Furthermore, eight key informant interviews from relevant institutions were conducted. The study shows that The Gambia is highly vulnerable to extreme climatic events. Although most farmers opined that agricultural land contamination emanates from farm runoff and indiscriminate waste dumping, they had little knowledge of heavy metal pollution and bioremediation. The results showed that farmers experienced constraints such as inadequate access to credit, water, and irrigation facilities, insufficient access to efficient inputs, salt intrusion, etc. which threatened food security. The study concludes that crop farmers acknowledged the existence and impacts of climate change, and therefore recommend the availability and affordability of climate change resilient crops and promote variability awareness campaigns to address climate change impacts in The Gambia.