Impacts of climate change on adaptation strategies among agro-pastoral households in Harorey, Ethiopia

Climate change is significantly affecting agro-pastoral livelihoods in arid and semi-arid regions, where communities are highly vulnerable to environmental shocks. This study assessed perceptions of climate change impacts and factors influencing adaptation responses among agro-pastoral households in Harorey District, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 355 randomly selected agro-pastoral households using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. The findings showed that 65.9% of respondents reported experiencing climate change impacts, including water shortages, declining crop and livestock productivity, and reduced availability of livestock feed. Most respondents also perceived changes in rainfall (68.3%) and temperature (76.9%), which negatively affected agricultural production systems. Climate change further affected household health, children’s education, rangeland conditions, livestock sales, and socioeconomic well-being. The study identified poverty, limited climate information, and scarcity of agricultural land as major barriers to adaptation. Logistic regression results indicated that adaptation was positively associated with being male-headed (AOR = 1.892, p = 0.025), participation in household decision-making (AOR = 1.746, p = 0.027), strong perception of climate change impacts (AOR = 2.078, p = 0.017), and perceived productivity changes (AOR = 2.378, p = 0.005). Conversely, older respondents and households owning land were less likely to adopt adaptation responses. Improving access to climate information, financial support, and adaptation programs is essential to strengthening household resilience.