Contribution of homegarden agroforestry to adaptation strategy of climate change in Boloso Sore Woreda, Wolaita zone, South Ethiopia

Homegarden agroforestry is thought to be more diversified and offers several services for households than conventional monocropping systems, and this is due to the combination of trees, crops, and livestock. This study assessed the contribution of homegarden agroforestry to the adaptation strategy of climate change in the Boloso Sore Woreda, Wolaita Zone. Key informant interviews, field observations, and household surveys were employed to gather primary data for the study. The survey data were collected from 188 households comprising 94 AHGAF (adopters of homegarden Agroforestry) and 94 NAHGAF (non-adopters of homegarden agroforestry) by systematic random sampling. The rainfall and temperature data from 1991 to 2020 were used to examine the trend of climate change. The factors impacting the adoption of homegarden agroforestry were examined using the binary logistic model. The study employed an independent t-test to compare the means between the AHGAF and NAHGAF groups. Further, the five sustainable livelihoods approach capital assets were employed. The results indicated that over the previous 30 years, the research area’s average temperature had risen by 2.1 ºC. The respondent's age, educational level, annual income, farm size, farm experience, and livestock ownership are factors that significantly affected the farmers’ decision to practice AHGAF (p < 0.05). The AHGAF households have 48.3% higher incomes than NAHGAF households, and AHGAF households have 49% higher livestock ownership than NAHGAF households. Households that adopt homegarden agroforestry have scored 28.4% higher than the average of the five livelihood capital scores than the average of all five livelihood capitals. Mostly, the current study area experiences monocropping, which results in less resilience and adaptation to climate change effects and less income generation as compared to homgarden agroforestry. This result confirms that the role of homegarden agroforestry showed higher implications on adaptation strategies to climate change. Therefore, attention should be given to developing the practice of homegarden agroforestry to adapt to climate change contributions in addition to economic purposes.