50
Z. Bird et al.
concluded by Hallam et al. (2012). It was observed that, while there was confusion
between climate change and climate-related extreme events, most farmers accepted
that climate change would be of great concern in the future, based on experiences
of change in the frequency and intensity of rainfall, dry spells, and cyclone over the
past three decades. By 2050, population growth is also considered a concern because
of the growing population density in the community and competition for land for
cultivation to produce food. McCubbin et al. (2015) made a similar conclusion.
Population will increase… the land we cultivated on the hills will soon have houses and we
won’t have a place to plant. (Malu’u, age 62)
Cause of Impacts: Climate-Related Events, Human Factor
and Religious Beliefs.
Half of the farmers suggested that the negative impacts had natural causes and
were not related to climate change. This indicates that climate awareness in the
two communities is lacking. Despite that, farmers have witnessed changes in the
weather patterns, they still considered this variability normal. However, more than
half of the farmers interviewed felt that crop yield was climate-related. Farmers
often perceived weather patterns, natural factors, and disasters as one entity, with
religious and biblical scripture having a strong influence on people’s lives. Previous
studies by Haluza-DeLay (2014), Le Dang et al. (2014) and da Silva Oliveira et al.
(2017) found that religious beliefs influence people’s perceptions of, and responses
to, climate threats. This explains why 92.3% of the farmers interviewed tend to have
strong spiritual beliefs.
I know that this is God’s will and is natural. It was said in the Bible that we would face
problems; the crops will die and fail. The other reason is that I do not give my tithes to the
church during harvest. So when I do not give my tithes, then God punishes me by causing
my crops to die and making me hungry because my gardens are affected. (Sikwafata, age
74)
I know that it is God’s doing if I forget or do not give my tithe to God or my first harvest,
my garden becomes affected because it says in Proverb 3: 9–10 that I should give back my
first harvest to God and he will bless my garden. But because I did not, my crops died or did
not grow well and that is why God punishes my food crops to die. (Malu’u, age 26)
Similar sentiments are found in rural Fiji (Janif et al. 2016) and elsewhere, especially
in faith-engaged culturally-grounded communities (Rowland 2019; Schuman et al.
2018; Skrimshire 2014). Havea et al. (2018) and Nunn et al. (2016) also demonstrated how religion influences people’s attitudes towards unprecedented climatedriven changes, which can be interpreted as interventions by God in human affairs.
Lack of information, communication, income and education influences behaviours
and may have contributed to low or slow adoption of modern agriculture technologies. Thus, farmers may continue to bear the negative impacts without attempting
to fully address the effects or to enhance their capacity to cope with the effects they
face because of ignorance or faith in God (Paltasingh and Goyari 2018). Salite (2019)
Z. Bird et al.
concluded by Hallam et al. (2012). It was observed that, while there was confusion
between climate change and climate-related extreme events, most farmers accepted
that climate change would be of great concern in the future, based on experiences
of change in the frequency and intensity of rainfall, dry spells, and cyclone over the
past three decades. By 2050, population growth is also considered a concern because
of the growing population density in the community and competition for land for
cultivation to produce food. McCubbin et al. (2015) made a similar conclusion.
Population will increase… the land we cultivated on the hills will soon have houses and we
won’t have a place to plant. (Malu’u, age 62)
Cause of Impacts: Climate-Related Events, Human Factor
and Religious Beliefs.
Half of the farmers suggested that the negative impacts had natural causes and
were not related to climate change. This indicates that climate awareness in the
two communities is lacking. Despite that, farmers have witnessed changes in the
weather patterns, they still considered this variability normal. However, more than
half of the farmers interviewed felt that crop yield was climate-related. Farmers
often perceived weather patterns, natural factors, and disasters as one entity, with
religious and biblical scripture having a strong influence on people’s lives. Previous
studies by Haluza-DeLay (2014), Le Dang et al. (2014) and da Silva Oliveira et al.
(2017) found that religious beliefs influence people’s perceptions of, and responses
to, climate threats. This explains why 92.3% of the farmers interviewed tend to have
strong spiritual beliefs.
I know that this is God’s will and is natural. It was said in the Bible that we would face
problems; the crops will die and fail. The other reason is that I do not give my tithes to the
church during harvest. So when I do not give my tithes, then God punishes me by causing
my crops to die and making me hungry because my gardens are affected. (Sikwafata, age
74)
I know that it is God’s doing if I forget or do not give my tithe to God or my first harvest,
my garden becomes affected because it says in Proverb 3: 9–10 that I should give back my
first harvest to God and he will bless my garden. But because I did not, my crops died or did
not grow well and that is why God punishes my food crops to die. (Malu’u, age 26)
Similar sentiments are found in rural Fiji (Janif et al. 2016) and elsewhere, especially
in faith-engaged culturally-grounded communities (Rowland 2019; Schuman et al.
2018; Skrimshire 2014). Havea et al. (2018) and Nunn et al. (2016) also demonstrated how religion influences people’s attitudes towards unprecedented climatedriven changes, which can be interpreted as interventions by God in human affairs.
Lack of information, communication, income and education influences behaviours
and may have contributed to low or slow adoption of modern agriculture technologies. Thus, farmers may continue to bear the negative impacts without attempting
to fully address the effects or to enhance their capacity to cope with the effects they
face because of ignorance or faith in God (Paltasingh and Goyari 2018). Salite (2019)