In Malawi, rural households that rely on rain-fed agriculture for livelihood face income loss due to frequent extreme weather events as a result of the changing climate. This study examines the impact of extreme weather events on farmers’ income, followed by the evaluation of their perceptions and coping strategies in the rural areas of Nsanje district, Malawi. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire survey of 385 randomly selected farmers and was analyzed through descriptive statistics and regression techniques. The results revealed that farmers perceived increased frequency of floods, droughts, and heavy rains. Furthermore, droughts and floods frequency negatively affect farm income, while the age, educational level, off-farm employment, farm size, access to credit, and the use of irrigation positively impact farm income. Farmers adopted to doing ganyu labour, crop diversification, planting crops early, planting drought-tolerant varieties, and planting crops adapted to waterlogging as key ex-ante adaptation strategies to reduce the negative effects of extreme weather events. Farmers adopted doing ganyu labour, borrowing money, crop diversification, changing eating patterns, receiving remittances, and planting early as key ex-post climatic risks coping strategies. We recommend the improvement of early warning systems, implementation of income diversification activities, and an increase in access to rural credit in order to boost household capacity to cope with extreme weather events.
Cite this paper
Mukete, N. , Ali, N. A. , Beckline, M. and Fomude, A. H. (2026). Assessing the Effects of Extreme Weather Events on Farmers’ Income in the Rural Areas of Nsanje District, Malawi
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