Adaptation Strategies in Response to the Effect of Climate Change on Tomato Production

Abstract

Climate change is one of the largest challenge of this century. Globally, climate change causes drops in yield for their most valuable crops, particularly in developing countries. Afghanistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the negative consequences of climate change. Tomato cultivation is a means of livelihood for most farmers in Afghanistan. The aim of this study was to assess the adaptation strategies on tomato production in response to the impact of climate change in Ghazni province. The study findings indicate a rise in both maximum and minimum temperatures, combined with a decline in annual precipitation over the ten years (2008-2017) period in an unreliable seasonal distribution. The study found that the occurrence of pests and diseases had a substantial impact on tomato production due to climate change. Present study highlights the role of climate variables in the production of tomatoes (temperature and precipitation) while controlling other confounding factors. Selection of crop variety according to climate change and planting time are the two adaptation methods to cope up with the drastic change in the climate to retain the productivity to some extent.

Keywords: Climate change, adaptation strategies, tomato production.