Unlocking climate change resilience: Socioeconomic factors shaping smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies in Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions

doi:10.1016/j.regsus.2025.100195

Abstract

Abstract:

Climate change poses substantial challenges to agricultural productivity and sustainability, particularly in Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions. Local smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change are crucial for mitigating these impacts. Therefore, this study investigated the socioeconomic factors influencing smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change in four countries (Morocco, Egypt, Italy, and Senegal) of Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions using a binary logistic regression (BLR) model. The results indicated that educational level, farming experience, agricultural income, farm size, participation in agricultural workshops, and training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) significantly impacted smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change (such as smallholder farmers adopting drought-tolerant crops). Higher educational level was linked to the greater possibility of smallholder farmers adopting drought-tolerant crops in Italy and Egypt, while gaps in rural education limited the possibility of smallholder farmers adopting drought-tolerant crops in Morocco and Senegal. Farming experience and agricultural income also enhanced the possibility of smallholder farmers adopting drought-tolerant crops, with notable variations across countries due to systemic barriers such as limited infrastructure in Senegal. Larger farm size and participation in agricultural workshops further improved the possibility of smallholder farmers adopting drought-tolerant crops, particularly in Morocco and Egypt. The findings highlighted the importance of tailored interventions and policy measures to support smallholder farmers in effectively responding to the challenges of climate change under diverse agricultural contexts. By understanding the specific needs and circumstances of smallholder farmers in these countries, policymakers can develop more effective adaptation strategies to enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability under the context of climate change.

Key words: Climate change, Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions, Binary logistic regression (BLR) model, Drought-tolerant crops, Climate-smart agricultural practices

Osama AHMED, Mourad FAIZ, Laamari ABDELALI, Safwa KHOALI, Cataldo PULVENT, Sameh MOHAMED, Mame Samba MBAYE, Thomas GLAUBEN. Unlocking climate change resilience: Socioeconomic factors shaping smallholder farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies in Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa regions[J]. Regional Sustainability, 2025, 6(1): 100195.

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References 53

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Category	Sub-category	Percentage of respondents (%)
Category	Sub-category	Morocco	Egypt	Italy	Senegal
Educational level	Pimary education	29.33	3.50	6.70	14.65
	Secondary education	19.27	35.70	21.70	13.96
	University education	0.55	42.60	35.00	3.15
Socioeconomic satus	On-farm demonstration	36.00	6.10	23.30	1.00
	Sufficient agricultural income	16.00	37.40	75.00	27.80
	Participation in agricultural workshops and training in GAPs	63.30	17.40	53.30	2.80
	Food insecurity	64.40	75.20	0.00	45.40
	Implementing climate-smart agricultural practices	46.20	47.80	36.70	12.00
	Crop insurance	78.40	1.00	33.30	0.00
Perceptions of climate change	Facing climate change challenges	100.00	81.00	71.00	90.00
	Change in temperature	100.00	100.00	96.70	74.10
	Increase in temperature	100.00	40.90	96.70	31.50
	Adopting drought-tolerant crops	33.30	41.70	43.30	4.60

Iteration		Morocco		Egypt		Italy		Senegal
Iteration		-2LL	Coefficient	-2LL	Coefficient	-2LL	Coefficient	-2LL	Coefficient
Step 0	1	81.020	0.680^***	159.210	0.090	81.500	0.330	149.570	0.074
	2	81.000	0.720^***	159.210	0.090	81.500	0.340	149.570	0.074
	3	81.000	0.720^***	-	-	81.500	0.340	-	-

	Answer	Morocco		Egypt		Italy		Senegal
	Answer	Number of people	Correct value (%)	Number of people	Correct value (%)	Number of people	Correct value (%)	Number of people	Correct value (%)
Are you adopting drought-tolerant crops?	No	0	0.00	50	0.00	25	0.00	52	0.00
Are you adopting drought-tolerant crops?	Yes	43	100.00	60	100.00	35	100.00	56	100.00
Overall correct classification rate (%)		61.42		54.54		58.33		81.85

Independent variable		Morocco		Egypt		Italy		Senegal
Independent variable		Score	Significance	Score	Significance	Score	Significance	Score	Significance
Educational level		10.200^***	0.001	47.050^***	0.000	10.620^***	0.001	1.850	0.173
Farming experience		8.600^***	0.003	40.370^***	0.000	3.730^*	0.054	7.470^***	0.006
Agricultural income		10.810^***	0.001	25.090^***	0.000	9.970^***	0.002	10.250^***	0.001
Farm size		11.020^***	0.001	37.940^***	0.000	8.190^***	0.004	12.020^***	0.001
Participation in agricultural workshops		2.380	0.123	26.040^***	0.000	10.290^***	0.001	0.424	0.515
Training in GAPs		13.670^***	0.000	16.430^***	0.000	10.290^***	0.001	0.424	0.515
Constant	Coefficient	0.720^***		0.090^*		−0.340^*		0.070^*
Constant	Wald test	7.250		0.220		0.650		0.150

Independent variable	Morocco		Egypt		Italy		Senegal
Independent variable	Coefficient	Significance	Coefficient	Significance	Coefficient	Significance	Coefficient	Significance
Educational level	4.769^***	0.008	1.546^**	0.033	1.567^**	0.037	1.137^**	0.028
Farming experience	3.030^**	0.026	2.152^**	0.031	1.971^**	0.029	1.035^**	0.027
Agricultural income	2.462^**	0.047	1.360^**	0.040	1.901^**	0.028	1.520^***	0.005
Farm size	3.109^**	0.019	1.350^**	0.039	1.782^**	0.027	1.384^***	0.003
Participation in agricultural workshops	2.695^**	0.041	2.067^**	0.043	1.608	0.460	-	-
Training in GAPs	2.467^**	0.046	1.859	0.500	1.608	0.460	-	-
Constant	-5.469^***	0.001	-4.266^***	0.000	-5.408^***	0.000	-1.859^***	0.000
Nagelkerke’s R² (%)	81.20		71.10		56.40		32.70
Pseudo-R² (%)	69.00		55.00		40.00		20.00