Farmers’ Attitudes Toward Mechanisms and Practices of Climate Change Adaptation in Egypt and Iraq: A Comparative Field Study

Climate change represents a serious challenge to agricultural sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions, where farmers increasingly face drought, temperature fluctuations, and resource scarcity. This study aims to assess and compare farmers’ attitudes in Egypt and Iraq toward climate change adaptation mechanisms and to identify the main barriers that limit the effective adoption of adaptive practices. A descriptive–analytical and comparative field approach was applied, and primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 342 farmers in Egypt and 157 farmers in Iraq. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were used to examine attitudes and determine significant differences between the two groups. Farmers’ attitudes toward climate change adaptation mechanisms and practices were measured using a 30-item scale with a three-point Likert response format (1–3), where higher scores indicate more favorable attitudes. The results indicated that farmers in both countries exhibited moderately positive attitudes toward adaptation practices, with mean scores of 2.34 in Egypt and 2.38 in Iraq with no statistically significant difference at the aggregate level, while differences are more clearly expressed at the dimensional and contextual levels rather than in overall attitudes. Major constraints to adaptation included weak institutional support, limited access to financing, absence of early warning systems, and insufficient training opportunities. The study concludes that improving agricultural extension services, expanding credit facilities, and upgrading rural infrastructure are essential to enhance farmers’ adaptive capacity and strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems.