Assessment of Farmers’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Satisfaction with Agricultural Extension Services and Climate Change Impacts in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Abstract

Climate change is a burning issue and one of the biggest hazards to the Pakistani agriculture. Agricultural sector in Pakistan especially in the merged regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is becoming vulnerable to climate change. Agriculture is the main crop in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan where most of the people make their living through farming, as the main source of food and security. This paper critically analyzes the knowledge, perceptions, and satisfaction of farmers with agricultural extension services; as well as, their perception of climate change and the outcomes of climate change to agriculture. Structured interviews were used to collect data on 300 farmers in South Waziristan, Bajaur, and Khyber and were supplemented with secondary data of governmental sources. Results show that the largest source of information is the agricultural extension workers, although a considerable number of farmers are dependent on NGOs, peer networks and the electronic media. About 76 percent of the respondents had been sensitized to the issue of climate change where the most recognized threat was erratic rainfall, delayed monsoons, extended dry spells, and increased temperatures. Farmers also reported several contradicting effects such as decrease in crop production, kill of livestock, rural youth migration, soil infertility and rising costs of production. Even though 60.7 percent of the surveyed clients mentioned that they are satisfied with extension services, there are still gaps in the accessibility, technical guidance and the availability of climate adaptation strategies. The paper reveals the importance of extension services in facilitating climate-sensitive agricultural practices and recommends that science and local knowledge should be used to improve the resilience of the farmers. Results offer some actionable information to policy makers and development agencies to develop some specific interventions which would enhance adaptive capacity, enhance agricultural output as well as the welfare of rural populations in the face of the increasing challenges in climatic conditions.