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Abstract Climate change remains one of the greatest global threats to human livelihoods and environmental sustainability. As the impact of climate extremities continues to reshape the livelihoods of communities in marginalized rural areas of the global south, it is imperative to understand how residents in these areas perceive climate impacts and how this understanding shapes their adaptation practices and engagement in public discourses on the topic. To address this, an empirical survey was conducted on ninety (90) households from three rural communities in Northern Sierra Leone, aiming to explore their perspectives on the climate change phenomenon from a farm-household standpoint. The dynamic relationship between the varying perspectives of the farmers and their socio-demographic and farm-specific characteristics was further examined through bivariate correlation analysis. The results underscore the crucial influence of socio-demographic and farm-specific factors in moderating farmers’ perceptions of climate events in the study area, with the dynamics of the relationship manifesting in both positive and negative trajectories. While crop rotation and regulation of planting times emerged as the predominant adaptation strategies of the farmers, given their profound utility in helping farmers cope with the evolving impacts of climate change, this study emphasizes the crucial role of addressing institutional and location-specific bottlenecks to facilitate farmers to practice other adaptation strategies that align with their specific needs. The results bear important implications for policymakers seeking to enhance the climate resilience of local farmers by providing current, location-specific information on climate perceptions and local adaptation strategies, which is crucial to guide the targeted planning and implementation of climate-related interventions.
Aruna Kainyande (Wed,) studied this question.