3 Religious and Cultural-Spiritual Attributions of Climate-Driven …
45
sales of their products and household members’ employment. The highest proportion
of household expenditure was on store-bought foods (27.2% of youths, 26.1% of
middle-age, and 35.5% of elderlies) followed by food bought from the market (19.6%
of youths, 11.7% of middle-age, and 19.7% of elderlies). Other expenditure items
include, school fees and stationeries (25.0% of youths, 30.0% of middle-age, and
21.1% of elderlies), clothing (17.4% of youths, 14.4% of middle-age, and 10.5%
of elderlies), home repair (9.0% of youths and 5.3% of elderlies), and contributions
to social events (5.4% of youths, 3.6% of middle-age, and 1.3% of elderlies). The
remaining 2.0% of youths, 5.4% of middle-age, and 6.6% of the elderlies refused to
respond. All age groups spent more on store-bought foods however; the proportion
was slightly higher for the elderly age group.
Perceptions on the Causes of Negative Impacts on Food
Production
Table 3.1 presents farmers’ responses to the factors negatively affecting food production. The responses include climatic and non-climatic stressors, which farmers
observed as a hindrance to optimal farming practices. The responses involving
climatic and natural factors include disaster, cyclone, rainfall, drought or dry spell,
temperature, humidity, and unspecified climate changes; the causes attributed by
farmers to these factors included climate changes caused by God’s will, by humans’
impacts on the environment, and sometimes by traditional or culturally-grounded
beliefs. Twenty-nine percent of youths, 25.8% of middle-aged, and 37.5% of the
elderlies considered that God caused the negative impacts on their food production
through changes to normal patterns or variations of climate/weather and disasters.
Note that all farmers considered natural hazards causing disasters as normal rather
than aberrant, including tropical cyclones, torrential rainfall, drought/dry spell, and
fluctuations in temperature and humidity (54.1% of youths, 57.1% of middle-age,
and 53.2% of elderlies).
Figure 3.2 presents the crop type ranked from the least to the most damaged due
to the factors listed in Table 3.1. Figure 3.3 presents the constraints and difficulties
limiting the ability of farmers to address the impacts on crops caused by the factors
listed in Table 3.1. All crops and vegetables were affected but the two most affected
were taro (78.6%) and sweet potato (77.6%) (Fig. 3.2). The analysis also found that
the main constraints (21.7%) were the lack of equipment (tilling tools and planting
materials) and labour (fewer than two people and old age) (20.4%) followed by other
constraints as presented in Fig. 3.3.
45
sales of their products and household members’ employment. The highest proportion
of household expenditure was on store-bought foods (27.2% of youths, 26.1% of
middle-age, and 35.5% of elderlies) followed by food bought from the market (19.6%
of youths, 11.7% of middle-age, and 19.7% of elderlies). Other expenditure items
include, school fees and stationeries (25.0% of youths, 30.0% of middle-age, and
21.1% of elderlies), clothing (17.4% of youths, 14.4% of middle-age, and 10.5%
of elderlies), home repair (9.0% of youths and 5.3% of elderlies), and contributions
to social events (5.4% of youths, 3.6% of middle-age, and 1.3% of elderlies). The
remaining 2.0% of youths, 5.4% of middle-age, and 6.6% of the elderlies refused to
respond. All age groups spent more on store-bought foods however; the proportion
was slightly higher for the elderly age group.
Perceptions on the Causes of Negative Impacts on Food
Production
Table 3.1 presents farmers’ responses to the factors negatively affecting food production. The responses include climatic and non-climatic stressors, which farmers
observed as a hindrance to optimal farming practices. The responses involving
climatic and natural factors include disaster, cyclone, rainfall, drought or dry spell,
temperature, humidity, and unspecified climate changes; the causes attributed by
farmers to these factors included climate changes caused by God’s will, by humans’
impacts on the environment, and sometimes by traditional or culturally-grounded
beliefs. Twenty-nine percent of youths, 25.8% of middle-aged, and 37.5% of the
elderlies considered that God caused the negative impacts on their food production
through changes to normal patterns or variations of climate/weather and disasters.
Note that all farmers considered natural hazards causing disasters as normal rather
than aberrant, including tropical cyclones, torrential rainfall, drought/dry spell, and
fluctuations in temperature and humidity (54.1% of youths, 57.1% of middle-age,
and 53.2% of elderlies).
Figure 3.2 presents the crop type ranked from the least to the most damaged due
to the factors listed in Table 3.1. Figure 3.3 presents the constraints and difficulties
limiting the ability of farmers to address the impacts on crops caused by the factors
listed in Table 3.1. All crops and vegetables were affected but the two most affected
were taro (78.6%) and sweet potato (77.6%) (Fig. 3.2). The analysis also found that
the main constraints (21.7%) were the lack of equipment (tilling tools and planting
materials) and labour (fewer than two people and old age) (20.4%) followed by other
constraints as presented in Fig. 3.3.