The Implications Of Climate Change On Subsistance Crop Production, A Case Study Of Juba County, South Sudan

ABSTRACT

Unlike many areas of the world where agricultural producers exhibit the physical, economic and social resources to moderate, or adapt, subsistence agriculture in the Juba County South Sudan is seem to be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climatic variability. This is in part due to the fact that the majority of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihood. J-dapting to climate change in the subsistence agricultural sector is therefore very imperative in providmg food security and concomitantly protecting the livelihood of rural communities. This study examined the patterns of current climatic variables on some selected subsistence staple crops namely; millet and sorghum in the Juba County South Sudan. It also valorized and documented the community based adaptation strategies used by local farmers to cope with current climate change, explored the constraints and opportunities in adaptation and mitigation that could facilely be integrated and incorporated into policies and programs. The guiding premises were that climatic change impacts subsistence crop yields as the lower the rainfall, the higher the vulnerability of the yields of staple crops. It also hypothesized that the present community-based strategies used by the local farmers are relevant and crucial to the present day quest for climate change adaptation strategies. A participatory research approach was used in exploring adaptation patterns perceived by the rural areas in the face of variable climatic condition via administered questionnaires. The results suggested critical impact asymmetries due to climatic and socio-economic factors affected subsistence crops in the South Sudan. However, other factors such as increased droughts, floods and water shortages have undoubtedly caused enormous impacts on the agricultural system as seen in remote sensing analyses. Questionnaire survey findings also connoted that subsistence farming communities have a rich repertoire of strategies ranging from changing of planting dates, changing of crop varieties, switching from crops to livestock, use of local indicators, movement from rural to urban areas, increment in cultivated lands, irrigation soil conservation practices among many others as they perceive varying climatic conditions. Additionally, some of these indigenous strategies are inherent in ecological agricultural practices that offer a win-win scenario for the simultaneously tackling of climate change adaptation and mitigation and hence meeting the development goals. The results further highlighted the weather hazards, pest problems as some of the factors hindering subsistence farmers’ ability to adapt. The study concluded that adaptation measures in subsistence agriculture were highly significant for poverty reduction. thus improving on the x wellbeing of the rural areas. The key to the ability of farmers to adapt would be access to relevant knowledge and information. Following the rich repertoire of strategies by local farmers, adaptation needed to be mainstreamed and institutional networks strengthened in order for effective community based adaptation