This study examined smallholder farmers' observation of climate change and variability, its effect on agricultural output, and the livelihood adaptive strategies being used in response to such dynamic changes. A total of 121 smallholder farmers were randomly selected from three vulnerable rural farming communities in northern Ghana through a mixed methodological approach involving household surveys, interviews and focus group discussions. Data were analysed using descriptive and binary logistic regression with the help of IBM SPSS statistical software package integrated with qualitative thematic analysis involving transcription, categorization and interconnecting. The results show that majority (95.9%) of the smallholders have observed climatic changes in their local ecology with manifestations involving protracted drought (95.9%), unpredictable rainfall pattern (94.2%), high temperature (99.2%), strong winds (66.9%) and frequent flood events (99.2%). As a consequence, smallholders have observed that changes in temperature (99.2%) and rainfall patterns (97.5%) result in decreased agricultural output. In resolving the impacts, these smallholders employ preferred livelihood adaptive strategies involving non-farm diversification (51.2%), crop diversification (75.2%), changes in farm location (76.9%) and agrochemical application (100%) with moderate or high levels of effectiveness across space. The logistic regression results revealed that factors such as age, gender and access to credit significantly influenced smallholder farmers’ observation and adaptation to climate change and variability. The findings suggest the need for a location-specific climate adaptation policy. By this, the local knowledge, adaptive capacity and resilience of smallholder farmers could be built upon to mitigate their vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty.

本研究考察了小农对气候变化和变异性的观察、其对农业产出的影响，以及为应对此类动态变化所采用的生计适应战略。通过家庭调查、访谈和焦点小组讨论等混合方法，从加纳北部三个脆弱的农村农业社区中随机选择了 121 名小农。在 IBM SPSS 统计软件包的帮助下，使用描述性和二元逻辑回归分析数据，该软件包与涉及转录、分类和互连的定性主题分析相结合。结果表明，大多数 (95.9%) 的小农观察到当地生态的气候变化，表现为长期干旱 (95.9%)，不可预测的降雨模式（94.2%）、高温（99.2%）、强风（66.9%）和频繁的洪水事件（99.2%）。因此，小农观察到温度 (99.2%) 和降雨模式 (97.5%) 的变化导致农业产量下降。在解决影响时，这些小农采用了首选的生计适应策略，包括非农多样化 (51.2%)、作物多样化 (75.2%)、农场位置变化 (76.9%) 和农用化学品应用 (100%)跨空间的有效性。Logistic 回归结果显示，年龄、性别和获得信贷等因素显着影响小农对气候变化和变率的观察和适应。研究结果表明需要针对特定​​地点的气候适应政策。