Livelihood Resilience to Climate Change in Family Farming System (Case Study: Wheat Farmers’ Mahidasht in Kermanshah)

Over 90 percent of the agrarian system in the west of Iran is based on family farming. Thus, rural people in this region are dependent on agricultural resources, pastoral systems, and nonfarm activities for their livelihood, which has heightened their vulnerability to climate change. Therefore, this study aims to measure the livelihood resilience of family farming to climate change in Mahidasht. For this purpose, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2018. A total of 338 wheat farmers were selected for interview on the basis of a systematic random sampling method. The instrument developed by the Speranza module was translated into the Persian language. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha and Cohen's Kappa coefficient. Results revealed that the capacity for learning was improved compared to the other components of livelihood resilience. However, less than half of all participants (44.51) did not have adequate self-organization. Based on the results, the framework proposed for measuring livelihood resilience has a holistic view and can measure all aspects of resilience. It is, thus, recommended to use this framework in the research related to this field. Moreover, livelihood resilience to climate change was found to be influenced by gender, marital status, age, and level of education. Hence, it is recommended to local planners and relevant authorities to consider these differences when developing livelihood resilience plans in the region and design their plans based on these differences.