Assessing climate change perceptions and climate-smart agriculture adoption among root, tuber and banana farmers in Eastern D.R. Congo

Perceptions shape human practices, including agricultural decisions, yet their influence on climate-smart agriculture adoption remains insufficiently understood in climate-vulnerable eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study compared farmers’ perceptions of climate change with empirical climate data of the past three decades across South-Kivu’s agroecological zones (AEZ), eastern DRC. It further assessed climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices being used by smallholder root, tuber, and banana (RTB) farmers and factors driving their adoption. Data on climate change perception and drivers of CSA adoption was collected from 407 smallholder RTB farmers, selected through a multistage stratified random sampling, while climate data trends of the past three decades (1989–2024) were assessed using RClimDex 1.9. Farmers perceived increase in floods, drought, rainfall, wind speed, and lightning regardless of AEZ, though weather data could only confirm significant increase in rainfall. The study identified 24 CSA practices being used in RTB-based production systems, with varying adoption rates and drivers. Generally, farmer location, access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), and crop had the most significant effects on CSA adoption regardless of the practice. The findings, supported by both observed climate records and farmers’ perceptions, indicate that climate parameters are changing in eastern DRC and may adversely affect RTB production systems, although the perceived magnitude of these changes does not always correspond with observed trends. Therefore, there is need for context-specific interventions to foster a sustainable transition toward climate-smart RTB production systems, building upon and scaling up practices that are already adopted by smallholders.