Climate change and variability make it challenging for developing countries to grow food, especially in places like Somaliland, where the agroecological systems are weak. Political instability and poverty exacerbate these problems. This study examined the perceived impacts of climate variability on maize production among small-scale farmers in the Gabiley District of Somaliland. A questionnaire was used to collect responses from 191 people. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope tests were used to look at the trend of Twenty Years of Data from 2004 to 2023. These tests showed that rainfall in the Gabiley region has been going down over the past twenty years. We also used linear trend analysis of regression to look at maize data from 2012 to 2024. The downward-sloping linear trendline shows that the maize yield has been going down over time. We used simple linear and multiple regression analyses to find out how climate change affects maize yields. The findings (R= .284a, R2 = 0.080, p = .001b). showed that changes in the climate as a whole had a statistically significant effect on maize production. This study examined three research questions: (1) What are the recent trends in climate variability in the Gabiley District? (2) What is the effect of climate variability on maize production for small-scale farmers? (3) What weather conditions have the most effect on maize yield? I posited that diminishing rainfall and heightened temperature variability adversely impact maize production. In conclusion, this study highlights that persistent drought is the principal climate-related factor adversely affecting maize production for small-scale farmers in the Gabiley District of Somaliland. The results give important information to people who want to see climate-smart agriculture adopted in the Gabiley District. Suggestions include using drought-resistant crop types, water-saving methods, crop diversification plans, policy support programs, and more research on how to adapt to climate change.
Mohamoud et al. (Fri,) studied this question.