Climate change and livestock herders wellbeing in Pakistan: Does nexus of risk perception, adaptation and their drivers matter?

Muhammad Usman; Asghar Ali; Joanna Rosak-Szyrocka; Ladislav Pilař; Sajjad Ahmad Baig; Rimsha Akram; Abdulazeez Hudu Wudil

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16983

Climate change and livestock herders wellbeing in Pakistan: Does nexus of risk perception, adaptation and their drivers matter?

Heliyon. 2023 Jun 3;9(6):e16983. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16983. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Muhammad Usman¹, Asghar Ali¹, Joanna Rosak-Szyrocka², Ladislav Pilař³, Sajjad Ahmad Baig⁴, Rimsha Akram⁵, Abdulazeez Hudu Wudil⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
² Faculty of Management, Czestochowa University of Technology, 42-200, Czestochowa, Poland.
³ Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
⁴ Faisalabad Business School, National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁶ Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Rural people, particularly in developing nations, rely on livestock as a key source of income. In Pakistan, rural people depend profoundly on buffalo, cows, sheep, and goats to earn their livelihood. The systems of agricultural production are at risk because of the negative effects of climate change. It badly affects production and quality of milk and meat, animal health, productivity, breeding, feed, and rangelands of livestock production. Climate change risks assessment and adaptation are required to minimize losses from these effects, which are not just technical but also socioeconomically significant. Hence, based on data collected from 1080 livestock herders using a multistage sampling technique in Punjab, Pakistan this study aims to assess perceived impact of climate change on livestock production and to assess coping strategies. In addition, determinants of adaptation strategies and their effects on livestock production was also estimated. Binary Logistic Regression was used to identify the drivers of adaptation strategies. In addition, Multi Group Analysis (MGA) in Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLS-PM) was applied to compare adapter and non-adapter of climate change adaptation strategies. Findings indicated that there are spread of various diseases to livestock due to adverse effects of climatic variability. There was reduction in the availability of the livestock's feed. Moreover, competition of water and land resources of livestock was also increasing. Low production efficiency resulted in decline of milk yield and meat production. Likewise, mortality of livestock, increased in still births, reduction in reproductive performance, decline in animal fertility, longevity, and general fitness, decreased birthing rates, rises in age at foremost calving in beef cattle was also prevailing. There were different adaptation policies used by farmers to handle with climate change and these were influenced by several demographic, socioeconomic, and agronomic aspects. Findings indicated that nexus of risk perception, adaptation plans and their determinants are beneficial to reduce the consequences of climatic variability and it improve the wellbeing of the herders. Risk management system may be created to protect livestock against losses caused by extreme weather events by providing awareness regarding influence of climate change on livestock. Easy and cheaper credit should be provided to the farmers to manage with the vulnerabilities of climate change.

Keywords: Adaptation; Binary logistic regression; Climate change; Determinants; MGA PLS-PM; Pakistan; Perceived impacts; Wellbeing.