Understanding farmers’ perceptions/beliefs and adaptation to climate change: The case of Rio das Contas basin, Brazil

Based on the background of the agriculture sector vulnerability to climate change in developing countries and it´s risks to Brazilian Northeast farmers, the paper put forward an understanding of the factors that guide individuals to adopt adaptive strategies to cope changing environments as a fundamental issue for the direction and effective formulation of well-targeted public policies. Mediation models were estimated considering two different scenarios: (i) adoption of adaptive practices by farmers based only on the impact of climate perception, mediated by knowledge/belief in the occurrence of climate change; (ii) the socioeconomic conditions of the farmers and their properties were additionally included. The main results demonstrated that the Rio das Contas basin farmers’ perceptions about the negative effects of climate change, despite being the main driver, will only affect adaptation behavior when the farmers have knowledge and believe in the occurrence of climate change. Socioeconomic conditions are overshadowed in predictive power of adaptation by knowledge/belief about climate change. This outcome may be directly related to the farmers’ cultural aspects, nevertheless, the importance of technical assistance or rural extension services should be also emphasized as an expressive part of farmers is no longer adapted due to lack of knowledge of suitable techniques.