Assessment of Adaptive Capacity of Wheat Growers to Climate Change in Sarpolezahab Township

During the recent decades, climate change has impacted the globe and its long lasting outcome on farmers’ livelihood is expected to increase in the next decades. In Iran, climate change has impacted agricultural sector in general and watershed regions in particular. In order to mitigate the diverse effects of climate change, farmers are motivated to use adaptation strategies. Adaptation is an adjustment in a system’s behavior and characteristics that enhance its ability to cope with external stress. The purpose of this survey was to assess the adaptive capacity of 370 wheat farmers in Sarpolezahab Township towards climate change. A multistage stratified cluster sampling was used to collect data using a structured questionnaire. Individual interview was used to complete the research instrument. The overall score of adaptive capacity of farmers indicated that farmers living in Beshive and Patagh had the highest adaptive capacity compared to Ghaleshahin region with the lowest level of adaptive capacity. Results also revealed that lack of financial resources, lack of water resources, lack of attention on behalf of policy makers, lack of public funds, and limited subsidiaries play an important role in adaptive capacity.