Climate Risk Management 26 (2019) 100197
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Climate Risk Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/crm
Building the adaptive capacity for livelihood improvements of
Sahel Savannah farmers through NGO-led adaptation interventions T
Abdallah Tahiru (Dallas)a,⁎, Brigid Sackeya, George Owusub, Simon Bawakyillenuob
a Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS), University of Ghana, Ghana
b Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The paper explores the extent to which NGO-led interventions on climate change adaptation over
Climate change the years have developed the adaptive capacity of farmers in Ghana. Drawing on the experiences
Adaptation of farmers from the Savelugu Municipal Assembly in Ghana, the paper investigates whether the
NGOs adaptation practices by NGOs are localized and sufficiently progressive to ensure sustainable
Adaptive capacity adaptation. The study is situated within the interpretive paradigm using a qualitative approach.
Farmers
Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions with NGOs and farmers in the
municipality. The study finds that institutions, particularly international NGOs and the various
interventions they led, have been very critical for developing potential of farmers to be actively
involved in the processes of change to minimize the negative impacts of climate change. They
provide direct and indirect capacity building activities such as providing farmers with in-
formation on climate change and its impact on their yields and livelihoods, building farmers skills
and knowledge to deal adequately with climate variability, laying the foundations for individuals
to build various capitals, directly assisting in coping and adaptive livelihood activities, financial
assistance to build livelihood capitals and engaging in impact offsetting strategies. These de-
terminants of the adaptive capacity provide interesting input in terms of guidance for manage-
ment options to enhance the adaptive capacity of the communities in the face of climate change.
Such results are significant in informing policy and practice at the national and local levels.
1. Introduction
Scientific evidence on weather occurrences across many parts of the globe indicate a changing climate (Perkins et al., 2018; Hart
and Feldman, 2018; IPCC, 2012). According to Bigelow and Zhang (2018), climate change is no longer an unfamiliar term anymore as
its consequences are gradually increasing at regional and local scales. Considerable changes have been noticed in precipitation,
temperature, sea level rise, frequency and intensity of extreme events (Chan, 2018; Hart and Feldman, 2018; IPCC, 2007). Other
climate-induced impacts including floods and prolonged drought are enormous, posing serious threats to general developmental
efforts and poverty reduction (Hart and Feldman, 2018; DeLonge et al., 2016). In essence, it is stated that climate change needs
instant action as the proactive and precautionary cost will be nominal than the cost of prolong and delayed action (Ziegler, Morelli
and Fawibe, 2017; IPCC, 2007). The extent of the climate vulnerability in any given place will depend on the frequency and intensity
of extreme events, the fraction of exposed people, its development, wealth and economic conditions (GDP, poverty), prevailing
political institutions, and the political will to prioritize adaptative strategies (Tahiru, 2019; Zhai and Helman, 2018; Thorpe and
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dallasdon2@gmail.com (A. Tahiru).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2019.100197
Received 23 December 2018; Received in revised form 16 September 2019; Accepted 24 September 2019
Available online 24 September 2019
2212-0963/ © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
A. Tahiru, et al. Climate Risk Management 26 (2019) 100197
Figge, 2018; Ravestein et al., 2018; Bigelow and Zhang, 2018).
Africa has been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change and variability (Ziegler et al., 2017; IPCC, 2007). This is due
largely to economic and social problems and multiple stressors, which exacerbate the exposure and sensitivity across the continent to
weather and climate extremes (Chan, 2018; IPCC, 2014; Seneviratne et al., 2012). Climate change has enhanced stress on food
systems in Africa, with more than 50% of the population believed to be facing food insecurity linked to climate change (Verpoorten
et al., 2013; Lazzarotto et al., 2010), with the region projected to potentially experience about 250 million tons of food deficits by
2020 (Ravestein et al., 2018). There are also enhanced occurrences of malaria and diarrhoeal diseases (Austin et al., 2018; Watts
et al., 2015), and more frequent water shortages (De Pinto et al., 2013; Rohr et al., 2011; Paull and Johnson, 2011) in most areas of
the continent. In turn, the impact is believed to have increased the number of environmental refugees and eco-migrants (Epule et al.,
2014; Rohr and Palmer, 2013; Raffel et al., 2013).
Adaptation is required for people to make adjustment in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected
climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts (IPCC, 2014). To achieve this objective, human systems should concentrate efforts on
moderation of harm and/or exploitation of benefits (UNISDR, 2009). Adaptation could be private (done by individuals) or public
(carried out by government) (Mendelsohn and Dinar, 1999). In the short term, adaptive strategies are used, while adaptive processes
belong to the long term. Adaptation can be anticipatory (takes place before impacts start), autonomous (spontaneous strategies that
happen to stem impacts earlier than later) or planned (policy actions to halt impacts) (UK Climate Impacts Programme, 2010).
Adaptation is essential to reduce the damages and take advantage of new opportunities in-light of the rapid climate change already
occurring and expected future impacts (Ford et al., 2007, 2014; Verchot et al., 2007; Mertz et al., 2009). Moreover, it is essential to
diversify current approaches. The integration of bottom-up and top-down approaches provides structure to hazard, vulnerability and
capability assessment by involving various stakeholders and prioritizing adaptation options and target groups (Tahiru, 2019; Bhave
et al., 2014). Specifically, the bottom-up approach facilitates engagements with relevant stakeholders and considers the nature and
magnitude of social, economic and ecological states of present vulnerabilities induced by multiple stressors, thereby making informed
decisions to manage future risks (Brooks et al., 2005; Codjoe and Owusu, 2011). Likewise, the top-down approach provides in-
formation which could shape climate adaptation options and priorities of stakeholders.
At the local level, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have taken on prominent roles in delivering environmental services to
communities and vulnerable groups (Tahiru, 2019; Foo, 2018; Jones et al., 2016). NGOs have become major players in oper-
ationalizing adaptation campaigns (Stocker, 2014, Keohane and Victor, 2011), mobilizing climate funds (Bulkeley and Newell, 2015;
Betsill, 2012; Yaro et al., 2015), communicating climate change (Brass, 2012; Bawakyillenuo et al., 2016) and policy partnerships for
effective adaptation (Béné et al., 2016; Banks and Hulme, 2012; Codjoe and Owusu, 2011). NGOs play a critical role in responding to
climate change in Africa and international context (Banks and Hulme, 2012). For instance, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (De Pascale et al., 2016; IPCC, 2014) more recently recognized NGOs as key actors in knowledge production, risk and
vulnerability mapping and community capacity building. Working across environmental and social sectors, NGOs are well placed to
foster diverse approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation (Darzi-Naftchali and Shahnazari, 2014; Keohane and Victor,
2011). For some NGOs, concerns about climate change have emerged from environmental advocacy (Bulkeley and Newell, 2015;
Dalton et al., 2014). For others, climate change exacerbates ongoing struggles to address poverty and other forms of social inequity
and NGOs’ commitment to sustainable development provides a common framework for the activities of many NGOs working to
address the challenges of climate change (Foo, 2018; Bawakyillenuo et al., 2016; Jones et al., 2016). The strategies or interventions of
NGOs working to foster sustainable response to climate change can be characterised along a number of continua, including; local to
global (Verpoorten et al., 2013; Lazzarotto et al., 2010), top-down to bottom-up (Aguiar et al., 2018; Banks and Hulme, 2012),
advocacy and capacity building (Amundsen et al., 2018; Bulkeley and Newell, 2015) and politically reformist to revolutionary
(Stocker, 2014, Keohane and Victor, 2011). More importantly, much NGO work is multi-strategic and generates diverse combinations
of these elements as groups collaborate with other organizations and account for political dynamics and resource availability (Béné
et al., 2016; Bulkeley and Newell, 2015).
Research on the experience of NGOs suggests that collaboration between organisations to facilitate knowledge flows between
local groups and broader campaign networks (Bawakyillenuo et al., 2016; Connor et al., 2009; Hall et al., 2010), reframing challenges
as solutions (Lettice and Parekh, 2010), communicating the multiple benefits of adaptation, linking advocacy for environmental care
with poverty reduction (Yaro et al., 2015; Krøvel, 2012) and integrating capacity building with advocacy for societal change (Brulle,
2010; Codjoe and Owusu, 2011) increase the chances of achieving the changes needed for sustainable adaptation to climate change.
NGOs are significant in community-based adaptation due to the criticality of climate change. Moreover, in recent decades, most
efforts for adaptation have concentrated on top-down approaches to the neglect of bottom-up approaches (Bryan and Behrman, 2013;
Wilbanks and Kates, 1999).
In Ghana, the vagaries of climate change are worrisome and smallholder farmers are at the fore of the adverse effects of climate
change (Ndamani and Watanabe, 2016; Antwi-Agyei et al., 2012; Yaro et al., 2015). In Northern Ghana, specifically, smallholder
farmers appear to be at more risk of severely suffering from the direct and indirect impacts of climate change events due to the
peculiar geographical and socio-economic stressors they face yearly (Akuduguet al., 2012; Dumenu and Obeng, 2016). The region is
mainly an arid zone with more severe droughts and savanna landscapes, and the rising climate change levels seems to repeatedly
expose these smallholder farmers to extreme climatic conditions including poor rainfall patterns, forest fires, soil erosion, and loss of
soil fertility (Wossen et al., 2015; Owusu et al., 2008). It was observed that; destruction of crops, livestock, and food and water
shortage among smallholder farmers (Tahiru, 2019; Nti, 2012) and decline in crop yields and flooding of crop lands in most com-
munities in the area are on the ascendency (Wossen et al., 2014). The introduction and integration of sound adaptive strategies by
NGOs has been identified as a more-necessary pathway to adapting to climate change effects (Ndamani and Watanabe, 2016; Antwi-
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Agyei et al., 2012). Even though, there is the abundant existence of NGOs in the area providing different kinds of climate change
interventions, no empirical establishment has been made on the impact of these NGO-led interventions on livelihoods. The study
hence sought to answer the following salient questions: what are the various NGO-led adaptation strategies in the area? What are the
socio-economic outcomes of these NGO-led adaptation strategies and what are the challenges limiting the implementation of
adaptation interventions by NGOs?
2. Theoretical framework
Contrasting the viewpoint on the prevailing theories of the evolution of agriculture, the Robert Netting’s (1993) smallholder
model argues that the practice of smallholding is more efficient and less environmentally degrading than that of industrial agriculture
which depends heavily on fossil fuel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Smallholding is a detailed analysis of agricultural
efficiency and conservation of resources around the world by smallholders to enhance livelihood and poverty alleviation (Ravestein
et al., 2018; Bigelow and Zhang, 2018). Building on this theoretical premise, the era of climate change calls for a more attention and
proactive measures to develop and advance smallholding to provide global food needs (Stocker, 2014; Keohane and Victor, 2011).
Smallholder farmers need to intensify production by using household labour to achieve an energy-efficient, low-input and successful
adaptation. Therefore, the role of NGOs to help smallholder farmers in managing the household patrimony wisely and sustainably is
imperative to achieve yearlong use of land, produce more per unit area with minimal ecological damage (Keohane and Victor, 2011).
The theory also demonstrates that there are significant, fundamental commonalities among smallholder cultures. For instance,
smallholder farming, wherever it takes place, highly depends on household labour, less/zero mechanisation and less/zero synthetic
chemicals making it a viable alternative to today’s dominant industrial agriculture systems due its less environmental footprints
thereby making NGOs the possible collaborators for sharing climate information and smart indigenous strategies (Bulkeley and
Newell, 2015; Dalton et al., 2014).
Smallholding households/communities are surrounded by social structures that determine what is right or wrong hence farming
practices are determine by these institutions (Jones et al., 2016; Lazzarotto et al., 2010). Chieftaincy, kingdoms, NGOs and local
government authorities, for instance, are strong institutions that formulate rules and regulations to guide society and hence agri-
culture practices. The theory presents diverse relevance for this study. It also sets the basis for understanding the concept of
smallholder farming, its activities and prospects, and the role of institutional presence in strengthening smallholder farming for
livelihood enhancement Furthermore, the theory helps to debunk the myth that only modern, large-scale, mechanised, scientific
agriculture can provide the food needed to feed the world’s population.
With rapidly growing world’s population catapulted with high income levels, change in dietary patterns and above all climate
change, various intensification measures are adopted to industrialised agriculture to respond to these concerns (Long et al., 2016).
The theory has, however, outlined the potential of smallholder farming to be efficient in providing food for the world’s population
and at a lower environmental cost. Also, the identification of institutions as the backbone for modern day smallholding is an essential
component that helps to understand the intervening variables that may serve as setbacks or enablers for sustainable smallholding and
livelihood enhancement.
3. Methodology
The study adopted a qualitative research approach to data gathering and analysis. Ten (10) communities were randomly selected
from the Savelugu/Nanton Municipality. These were Nambagla, Dipale, Pong Tamale, Zoggu, Nanton-Kurugu, Zion, Tarikpaa, Gushie,
Nyeko, Nyolugu. The Savelugu/Nanton Municipality is one of the 28 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the
Northern Region of Ghana. The Municipality was carved out of the then Western Dagomba District Council which comprised Tamale,
Tolon and Savelugu (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). It is located in the northern part of the Northern Region of Ghana and has a
total land area of about 2022.6 km2 with a population density of 68.9 persons per km2 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). It has a total
population of 139, 283 with 67, 531 males and 71, 752 females (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). The reason for the selection of the
study area is the urban and rural mixed population who are predominantly smallholder farmers, who contribute greatly to the
regional crop output. The area also experiences high influx of NGOs who engage farmers in various climate change interventions
which offers calls for an understanding into the livelihood implication of these interventions (see Fig. 1).
Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was organised in each community with farmers. This provided information on the activities of
farmers, adaptation strategies implemented by NGOs and the outcome of adaptation strategies on the livelihoods of farmers.
Subsequently, farm level verification of adaptation interventions implemented was done with the farmers. Ten (10) farmers vo-
lunteered to show some examples of adaptation interventions they are engaged in through the NGOs activities.
Representatives of selected NGOs were also interviewed to help understand the policy perspective the interventions introduced to
farmers. A structured interviewee guide was used in the collection of data from both the farmers and NGO representatives. For
farmers, the interviewee guide was divided into three (3) sections. Thus, Section A collected information on the background char-
acteristics of farmers, Section B was on the adaptation interventions received and Section C looked at the benefits/outcomes of the
interventions. The interview guide for NGO representatives centred on the challenges NGOs face in driving the adaptation agenda in
rural communities. A Likert Scale: 1-strongly disagree, 2-agree, 3-moderately agree, 4-agree and 5-strongly agree was used to present
a variety of options for selection.
Interviews as argued by Creswell (2014) allow for researchers to collect in-depth information to help identify micro-level issues of
NGOs participation in community level development. The interviewees were selected through convenience sampling technique since
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A. Tahiru, et al. Climate Risk Management 26 (2019) 100197
Fig. 1. Map of Savelugu Municipality Showing Study Communities.
no sample frames existed for the purpose of probability sampling. The interviews lasted between 25 and 35min. In all, eighty (80)
farmers and ten (10) NGO representatives were included in the study. The rationale and purpose of the study was adequately
explained to all study participants. Interviewees consented to participate willingly or redraw anytime they thought they had no
interest in the study again. The data from the interview was transcribed and analysed thematically which allowed for presentation
and discussion of the data. The farmers included in the study were maize, millet, groundnuts and yam farmers because these con-
stitute the major food crops produced in the area.
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Table 1
NGO-led adaptation interventions in the area.
Adaptation practices Responses (n) Percentage (%)
Preparation & application of compost 45 12.7
Use of drought tolerant seedlings 43 12.1
Provision of climate information 40 11.3
Residue management 38 10.7
Tree planting/afforestation 36 10.2
Other livelihood activities 32 9.0
Intercropping 25 7.1
Row/line planting 22 6.2
Rotating crops 20 5.6
Application of farm yard manure 18 5.1
Creating fire belts 18 5.1
Land fallowing 17 4.8
Total 354 100.0
*Multiple response.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. NGO-led adaptation interventions
Preparation and application of compost manure (12.7%), use of drought tolerant crops (12.1%), provision of climate information
and residue management were among the common interventions NGOs engaged farmers with as shown in Table 1. Farmers were
trained by various NGOs on how to prepare compost manure from their own raw materials. Compost manure is a low-cost manure
that is easy to prepare with the appropriate training and knowledge (Carter et al., 2016; Liefferinget al., 2016; Guan, 2015). In most
instances, farmers have the raw materials that can be used to generate the compost manure, but the knowledge and understanding to
turn these raw materials into manure may be lacking (Amundsen et al., 2018; Bulkeley and Newell, 2015; Wossen et al., 2014). Some
NGOs, as a way of building farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change in the area, engaged farmers in rigorous training and
demonstrations on the preparation and application of compost manure. An interviewee (female farmer) stated:
….we have learned how to dig a hole, gather animal droppings, cowpea, maize or millet residue and put into a hole. Add some water if it is
not raining and some ashes and cover. Leave the residue to rot (decompose), when the farming season begins then we either spread it on the
farm for the tractor to till or allow plants to grow before we place the compost side by side the crops. We did not know this method very well
but through the NGOs activities with us, we have all learned to implement this practice.
Use of drought tolerant crops was introduced by some NGOs to the farmers. The multiple years of prolonged drought in the area
has been a set-back in the cultivation of crops and by extension strongly driving food insecurity in the area. Improved drought
tolerant crops were introduced to the farmers to help reduce drought impact and improve crop productivity. Drought tolerant maize
and sorghum seeds were predominantly used by farmers. These seeds were contextually designed based on the already existing seeds
farmers were using, soil texture and weather.
German Development Cooperation (GIZ) has for the past five (5) years been supplying us with Wandata (drought tolerant maize seeds).
Before the season begins, the maize seeds are delivered to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture where we all go for seeds. They showed us
how to plant the maize seeds through demonstration farms and it has been very successful. Most of us have been able to produce more seeds
from what they gave us and we use these seeds every season (an interviewee, male farmer stated).
Climate services are relevant in providing the right climate information to farmers. Early warning systems, weather updates and
forecasting of weather events are smart climate services that keep farmers on the alert (Liefferinget al., 2016; Guan, 2015; Carmona
et al., 2015). In rural communities, climate services are essential to help rural farmers to adapt and mitigate climate change. It was
recognized that some of the NGOs were into the provision of climate services including: providing weather information on farmers’
mobile phones, radio discussions in traditional languages and setting up of granular meteorological stations.
Tree planting/afforestation plays important role in increasing the resilience of climate change impacts on smallholder farmers.
The use of trees and shrubs in farming can help increase farm incomes and diversify production and thus, spread the risk involved in
agricultural production (Nyagaet al., 2015). Trees and shrubs serve as a buffer against weather-related production losses by di-
minishing the effects of extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, droughts and wind storms (Raffa et al., 2015). Residue
management has the potential of increasing soil nutrients, microbial organisms and builds soil resilience to erosion and degradation
(Dikgwatlheet al., 2014), and reduces the need for external inputs (Nyagaet al., 2015). Leaves, stems and stalks from crops shield the
soil surface from heat, wind and rain, keeps the soil cooler and reduces moisture losses by evaporation (Raffa et al., 2015). Plausibly,
these palpable reasons motivated action by NGOs to introduce these practices (residue management and afforestation) to farmers.
The slow building chronic risks associated with climate change has motivated adaptation beyond the farm level (Perkins et al.,
2018; Thorpe and Figge, 2018). Off-farm activities are seen as effective solutions and/or add-ons for the achievement of adaptation
needs (Seneviratne et al., 2012). It was observed that some NGOs were engaging farmers in other livelihood activities including petty
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100
80
60
45%
40 42%
34% 37% 33%
20
0
Improves soil Increase crop Reduces cost of Empowerment Additional 
fertility productivity production of women income 
Fig. 2. Benefits and livelihood enhancement outcomes.
trading, carpentry, basketry among others. According to Dikgwatlheet al. (2014), climate change has and will continue to alter the
lives and aspirations of smallholder farmers and their communities; farmers can build strong adaptive capacity through farm level
and off-farm adaptation interventions.
4.2. Benefits and livelihood enhancement outcomes
The participation of NGOs in climate change adaptation resulted in increased crop productivity (45.0%), reduced cost of pro-
duction (42.0%), empowerment of women (37%), improvement in soil fertility (34.0%) and additional income (33%) as shown in
Fig. 2. Composting and application of farm yard manure are organic sources of nutrients for plants growth and water retention. They
are efficient in enhancing crop productivity and reducing farmers cost of production (Proiett et al., 2016; FAO, 2015). Distance/row
planting also limits or avoids nutrients competition. Usually, farmers hold the notion that planting several crops within a piece of land
is tandem to higher productivity resulting in ‘crowd planting’ (Paranhos et al., 2016; Dusabumuremyi et al., 2014). Crowded crops
become competitors for water, nitrogen, sunlight and other nutrients impeding growth. Stunted growth becomes a common char-
acteristic of crops that have been crowded. Use of drought tolerant seeds offers opportunity to prevent climate change related losses.
Farmers are able to achieve maximum yield in the face of prolonged drought. Famers stating increased in crop productivity and
improve soil fertility as benefits of NGO-led adaptation interventions could probably be as a result of the implementation of adap-
tation practices such preparation and application of compost manure, row/distance planting, application of farm yard manure and
use of drought tolerant seeds. An interviewee (female farmer) corroborated:
I used to get 2 bags of maize from these 2 acres of land but since I was trained to leave my residue on the farm, apply compost and farm
yard manure, I now get up to 8 bags or more on the same piece of land.
Another interviewee (male farmer) reiterated:
the maize seeds supplied are very good. The sun (drought) cannot destroy our crops when we use these seeds. I used to get up to 3 bags of
maize when I was using my old seeds, now with these seeds I get up to 15 bags of maize. I am able to pay for my children school fees, health
and use some of the money to re-invest on my farm at the beginning of the new season.
Vulnerable groups including women, migrants, aged and disable in smallholder communities have been known to stand high risk
of climate change impacts (Bajeli et al., 2016; Aworh, 2015). Access to land, for instance, by women in most parts of northern Ghana
has been a significant challenge impeding economic activities of women (Botha et al., 2015; Beddington et al., 2012). Women rely on
their family heads (mostly men) to access land for utilization (Bournaris et al., 2016; Cai et al., 2016; Calanca et al., 2011). To build
the capacity of women towards effective climate change adaptation, some of the NGOs provided specific targeted strategies to
vulnerable groups. Women were trained on how to increase their productivity on a small portion of land, manage post-harvest loses
and site-specific nutrients application for more yield. Beyond the farm level, female farmers were trained on smoke trading,
groundnut oil production, petty trading and sanitation control (as sanitation officers). More became empowered to take care of their
families, engage in community decision making and reducing poverty. A female farmer stated:
The NGOs have helped us a lot. For some time now, the rains do not come and if they do come, they come at the wrong time and this has
affected our entire livelihood. Some of the NGOs have been teaching us how to produce shea butter for sale, basketry, groundnut and rice
packaging. This has been important because I am able to raise money to pay for the children school fees and health. I have also been able to
open a provision shop which brings me more income.
Engaging farmers in various adaptation interventions also reduces cost of production. Smallholder farmers are able to rely on their
raw materials to produce manure for use on their farms. In the long-run, farmers also accrue additional income which is used for
other livelihood activities to further boost their economic status.
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Table 2
Challenges NGOs face in implementing adaptation interventions.
Challenges Mean Std. Cronbach alpha
Diverse and/or conflicting goals 2.12 3.82 0.87
Inadequate collaborations/networking 2.42 1.89 0.84
Difficulty in demonstrating success and benefits of adaptation 2.35 1.87 0.76
Lack of continuity or sustainability of projects 1.87 2.54 0.82
Lack of funds 2.00 2.01 0.79
Poor governance 2.32 1.77 0.83
Poor communication 3.10 3.78 0.77
Limited capacity 1.04 2.01 0.85
Political interference 2.07 3.02 0.78
*Scale; 1= strongly disagree, 2= agree, 3=moderately agree, 4= agree & 5= strongly agree.
5. Challenges NGOs face in implementing adaptation interventions
As shown in Table 2, NGOs are confronted with several setbacks in introducing climate change interventions. Notably, lack of
continuity or sustainability of projects (Mean= 1.78), limited capacity (Mean=1.04), inadequate collaborations/networking
(Mean= 2.42) and poor governance (Mean= 2.32). Also, political interference, diverse and/or conflicting goals and difficulty in
demonstrating success and benefits of adaptation were also stated as challenges among NGOs. Many of the NGOs interviewed
acknowledged that they have limited organizational capacity. With globalization and rapid technological changes, many of the NGOs
need to redevelop their operational systems which was barely lacking among the NGOs. Weak capacity was identified in the areas of
governance, fundraising, leadership and management and technical areas of development impacting adversely on the strength of the
NGOs to successfully implement climate change interventions.
Poor governance was recognized within the sector as a whole, within the NGO Council and within individual NGOs. Knowledge of
good governance is prominent in enhancing the capacity of NGOs in mobilizing funds, developing strategic adaptation interventions,
implementing and evaluating successes (Cai et al., 2016; Calanca et al., 2011). Very little understanding of why NGOs are required to
have Boards or what the roles and functions should be was common among some of the NGOs. Some participants explained that it is
difficult to achieve good governance with founders who wished to own their NGOs for their own purposes. Nonetheless, participants
with better understanding of good governance appreciated that governance is relevant for NGO accountability and transparency.
Lack of funds was a common problem faced by many of the NGOs. They stated difficulty in finding sufficient, appropriate and
continuous funding for their work as a setback for achieving climate goals and targets. There is a high dependency on donors and a
tendency to shift interventions to match donor priorities, which results in lack of financial, project and organizational sustainability.
According to Bournaris et al. (2016), NGOs need to collaborate and network to share information and strategies for effective
adaptation. There is also the need for NGOs to take over from what has already been to ensure continuity rather than just one-time
interventions. Inadequate collaboration and networking, however, existed among the NGOs in the area. As a result, duplication of
efforts, conflicting strategies at community level and lack of learning from experience were evidently impeding the clear direction of
adaptation interventions. NGOs were, therefore, unable to address local structural causes of poverty, deprivation and under-devel-
opment. NGOs also thrive on high suspicion among each other. There is also secrecy and lack of transparency, thereby intervening at
community level without community mapping. Consequently, some NGOs implement projects without due regard to ongoing
community initiatives.
6. Conclusion and policy implication
Climate change is undoubtedly a worrisome issue to rural communities, especially agricultural dependent ones. Without prag-
matic and efficient adaptation interventions, communities’ livelihoods will continue to be at high risks which exacerbate environ-
mental refugees, eco-migrants and food insecurity. Governments are playing their role to ensure climate change does not affect
citizens beyond control. Nonetheless, the activities of government alone might not be enough to arrest the fast-growing climate
change vagaries. Private sector and civil society organizations have a strong responsibility to influence climate action and commit
more resources for climate change adaptation. NGOs, for instance, are social groups that are strongly recognized at the local level in
helping address climate change. The study established that NGOs were effective in helping capacitate farmers to climate change
through on-farm and off-farm adaptation interventions such as the preparation and application of compost manure, use of drought
tolerant crops, provision of climate information and other livelihood activities.
The adoption of these interventions was recognized and manifested in the livelihoods of farmers’ especially promoting higher
productivity, improving soil fertility, empowerment of women and reducing the cost of production for farmers.
More importantly, farmers were able to raise additional incomes to support their families specifically, paying children school fees
and health. Farmers were also able to provide better general livelihood conditions for their families. The study concludes that
government encourages more NGOs to operate in rural communities to build the capacity of farmers and community folks to be more
capable of adapting to climate change. The study also calls for NGOs to adopt the concept of Social Enterprise in their operations. This
will allow for NGOs to generate internal funds to ensure the continuity of their operations. Relying on only donor funds may result in
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A. Tahiru, et al. Climate Risk Management 26 (2019) 100197
NGOs fading out when they are out of funds hence reducing the sustainability of their operations. The study finally calls for a stronger
collaborations among NGOs (both international and local) to share information and work effectively to foster continuity and sus-
tainability of interventions for the achievement of long-term adaptation needs.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
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Further reading
Anderegg, W.R., Hicke, J.A., Fisher, R.A., Allen, C.D., Aukema, J., Bentz, B., Pan, Y., 2015. Tree mortality from drought, insects, and their interactions in a changing
climate. New Phytol. 208 (3), 674–683.
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scale assessment of green urban infrastructure. J. Environ. Manage. 146, 107–115.
Iwama, A.Y., Batistella, M., Ferreira, L.D.C., Alves, D.S., Ferreira, L.D.C., 2016. Risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change: an interdisciplinary approach.
Ambient Soc. 19 (2) São Paulo. doi: 10.1590/1809-4422ASOC137409V1922016.
Mimura, N., Pulwarty, R.S., Duc, D.M., Elshinnawy, I., Redsteer, M.H., Huang, H.Q., Nkem, J.N., Sanchez Rodriguez, R.A., 2014. Adaptation planning and im-
plementation. In: Field, C.B., Barros, V.R., Dokken, D.J., Mach, K.J., Mastrandrea, M.D., Bilir, T.E., Chatterjee, M., Ebi, K.L., Estrada, Y.O., Genova, R.C., Girma, B.,
Kissel, E.S., Levy, A.N., MacCracken, S., Mastrandrea, P.R., White, L.L. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and
Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 869–898.
Revi, A., Satterthwaite, D.E., Aragón-Durand, F., Corfee-Morlot, J., Kiunsi, R.B.R., Pelling, M., Roberts, D.C., Solecki, W., 2014. Urban areas. In: Field, C.B., Barros,
V.R., Dokken, D.J., Mach, K.J., Mastrandrea, M.D., Bilir, T.E., Chatterjee, M., Ebi, K.L., Estrada, Y.O., Genova, R.C., Girma, B., Kissel, E.S., Levy, A.N., MacCracken,
S., Mastrandrea, P.R., White, L.L. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of
Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and
New York, NY, USA, pp. 535–612.
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