Perception of rainfed farmers on the impact of climate variability in Bengkulu Province, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper considers how farmers perceive to climate variability impacts, and suggests that perception these impact responses is as important as understanding responses to climate variability impacts. Based on a survey of 215 rainfed farmers in Bengkulu Province, we tested two hypotheses regarding climate variability impacts: (1) that climate variability has negative impacts on rainfed farming based on farmer’s perception, (2) that age, formal education, farming experience, land area, and participation in farmer groups will influence farmer’s climate variability perceptions. Using a multiple weighted score analysis and linier regression model we found support for the two hypotheses and furthermore showed that most of the farmers agreed that climate variability has a negative impact on rainfed farming. Farmers' formal education and participation in farmer groups influence farmers' perceptions on the impact of climate variability. With farmer groups, farmers can discuss various problems that arise due to climate variability.