The influence of socio-economic household characteristics on farmer resilience to climate change in Northern Ghana

Approaches to improved resilience of small-farmers due to the effects of climate change are of critical concern. This study investigates the socio-economic factors that influence small-scale farmers’ on-farm resilience in northern Ghana using seven resilient approaches adopted in the study area. Using a multi-stage sampling approach, a total of 300 small-scale farmers were interviewed. A bivariate analysis encompassing Pearson’s Chi-square and Cramer’s V and multivariate analyses encompassing Ordinary Least Squares regression and Principal Component Analyses to analyse the data, the study found that socio-economic characteristics such as age of a farmer, perception of climate change, educational level of a farmer, access to village savings and loans among others influence farmers resilience to climate change in diverse ways. The level of influence varied across the various resilient approaches and the two analytical models employed in the study. The study concludes that creating enabling environment that enhances socio-economic development improves the level of on-farm resilience of small-scale farmer.