Potential climate change adaptation and coping practices for agricultural productivity in the mountain areas of South Western Uganda

Agricultural productivity in Rwenzori mountain area is declining and undermining food security in the region. This trend has been accelerated in recent years due to rapid changes in climatic conditions. Climate change adaptation and coping practices are critical to identifying vulnerable entities and developing practical, well targeted adaptation practices and policies to improve agriculture productivity. However, it is currently poorly understood and not clear how to categorise and implement climate change adaptation practices. Little information is available on their potential impact and viability. This study was conducted to establish the viability and effectiveness of climate change coping and adaptation practices at different landscape positions in Rwenzori mountain areas of south western Uganda. Household data were collected at three landscape positions on farm households and soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm depth under major crops (banana, coffee, cotton and maize). Major adaptation practices were categorized using a developed field ranking approach. Data analysis was done using Genstat software discovery version 13 for soil and yield information and SPSS version 17.0 for socio-economic data. All climate change adaptation practices identified in the study area were at different landscape positions but their responses differed significantly between locations (P>0.05). The relationship between landscape position and climate change adaptation practices, largely depending on the type of livelihood emphasized in each location and the predominant crop enterprises grown.