Assessment of Grain Legumes Adaptation to Climate Change in Bugesera District, Rwanda

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the adaptability to climate change of selected grain legumes (including beans, peas and soybeans) in Bugesera district in Rwanda. Climate change was analysed by considering significant changes in mean, minimum and maximum temperature and the mean annual rainfall from 1970 until 2014, the year during which data for this study were collected. The sampling strategy followed a cluster area sampling and random sampling approach, which led to the sample size of 99 households surveyed using a structured questionnaire. MAKESENS model and Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) were applied to analyze climate data and information from the household survey. This study revealed significant increase of mean temperature (0.39^oC and 0.46^oC per decade for rainy seasons A and B respectively) and irregularity of rainfalls during both rainy seasons. The Diurnal Temperature Range (DTR) has been decreasing considerably, impacting the crops development traits such as internode length. The farmers’ responses indicated low adaptation capacity to the climate change, leading to a high sensitivity of the grain legumes. For an improved mitigation of climate change impacts, the following strategies were proposed: land consolidation and creation of grain legumes farmers’ cooperatives, improved economic capacity of the farmers, use of climate-resilient selected seeds, creation of the off-farm activities, improved climate information reliability and dissemination.