Development and Standardization of a Scale to Measure Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2026.624RT02Keywords:
Agriculture, Climate change, Farmers, Perception, ScaleAbstract
A standardized Likert Summated Rating Scale was developed during 2025 to measure the perception of farmers towards climate change across four chosen dimensions (Temperature and rainfall variability, Extreme weather events, Crop productivity, and Socio-economic impacts). Initially, 58 statements were framed based on Edwards’ criteria, of which 20 statements were eliminated following the relevancy test with 68 expert judges. The remaining 38 statements were pilot tested among 60 respondents from a non-sample area. After conducting item analysis using the critical ratio (t-value) technique, 10 statements were discarded. The final scale consists of 28 statements (7 positive and 21 negative), reflecting the predominantly risk-oriented nature of climate change perception. The internal reliability was established using Cronbach’s alpha, which showed a high reliability coefficient of 0.875. Further, the split-half reliability yielded Spearman Brown and Pearson coefficients of 0.948 and 0.901, respectively, which established a high internal consistency. This scale provides a reliable tool for researchers, extension personnel, and policymakers to accurately assess farmers’ perception, thereby facilitating targeted climate resilience and adaptation strategies.
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