Received: Jun 11, 2020 / Published: Mar 05, 2021
Situated in the Northern Mountain Region, one of the most climate-vulnerable regions of Vietnam, Yen Bai province is exposed to many climate risks. This study investigated how well Yen Bai farmers were aware of the impacts of the changing climate on production and their livelihoods and how they referred support programs from the central and local governments to make decisions on adaptation and resilience strategies. Data were collected through direct interviews of 488 cassava households in six communes of Van Yen district. Descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, and Chi-square test were used to statistically analyze the data. In addition, we employed the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to study the relationships of three identified independent variables: (i) understanding of support programs/policies; (ii) access to weather information; and (iii) experience of climate risks and impacts, and farmers’ perceptions of climate impacts. Results from the PLS-SEM model showed that farmers with higher positive scores in the three independent variables above had better perceptions of climate change and its possible impacts, from which better adaptation decisions and strategies could be derived. These research findings emphasized the need for improving the understanding of climate change that could impact farmers’ livelihoods, farmers’ access to accurate near-time and medium-term weather forecasts, and thoroughly using local knowledge on climate risks and effective native adaptation measures for better adaptation and mitigation strategies and actions in rural climate-vulnerable communities in Vietnam.
