World Journal of Agricultural Research, 2017, Vol. 5, No. 2, 102-110 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/wjar/5/2/6 ©Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/wjar-5-2-6 Impacts of Climate Change on Crop Yields in South Gonder Zone, Ethiopia Birhan Getachew * Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Debre Tabor, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia *Corresponding author: birhangt88@gmail.com Abstract Agriculture is the most susceptible sector to climate change related hazards. This is due to the fact that climate change affects the two most important direct agricultural production inputs and these are precipitation and temperature. The impacts of climate change on crop production and coping mechanism differ from place to place which is situated in different agro-ecological zones. Therefore, this study analyzed the impacts of climate change on crop yields in three purposively selected woreda’s of south Gonder Zone. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. In this paper, climate data were taken from Bahir Dar Meteorological Agency (BDMA) while crop yield data were obtained from South Gonder Zone Agricultural Development Office (SGZADO). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and Microsoft Excel in order to evaluate the impact of climate change on the yields of different crops in South Gonder Zone, Ethiopia. Multiple regression, trend analysis and correlation analytical techniques were used to anlyze the data. The result showed that the annual total rainfall and mean annual temperature have been increased by an average of 126.52mm (p<0.01) and 0.531°C (P<0.01) per year respectively for Addis Zemen Station. This confirms the occurrence of global warming at Addis Zemen station. An increasing trend of crop yield data for rice, teff and maize were observed from 2003-2012 for Addis Zemen station while an increasing trend of crop yield data for teff, wheat, barley, maize, bean and pea have been observed from 2003-2012 for Mekane Eyesus stations. The result obtained from the analysis carried out indicated that the impact of rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature have been statistically insignificant except rainfall against teff, minimum temperature for teff and chickpea crops and maximum temperature for wheat, barley and pea cereal crops at 95% and 99% probability level whereas the impact of climate on the yield of rice, maize,sorghum, bean and cowpea have been statistically insignificant. Efforts should be made to increase the cultivation of crops on which the impacts of climate on their yield is insignificant. Keywords: agriculture, climate, crops, yield, south gonder zone Cite This Article: Birhan Getachew, “Impacts of Climate Change on Crop Yields in South Gonder Zone, Ethiopia.” World Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 5, no. 2 (2017): 102-110. doi: 10.12691/wjar-5-2-6. 1. Background Agriculture is the most susceptible sector to climate change related hazards. This is due to the fact that climate change affects the two most important direct agricultural production inputs and these are precipitation and temperature [1]. Although the effects of changes in climate on crop yields are likely to vary greatly from region to region, anticipated changes are expected to have large and far-reaching effects predominantly in tropical zones of the developing world with precipitation regimes ranging from semiarid to humid [2]. Hazards include increased flooding in low lying areas, greater frequency and severity of droughts in semiarid areas, and excessive heat conditions, all of which can limit crop growth and yields. As temperatures continue to rise, the impacts on agriculture will be significant [3]. These impacts are already being experienced by many communities in countries of the Southern hemisphere. There will also be an increase in droughts and heavy precipitation events, which will further damage crops through crop failure, flooding, soil and wind erosion [4]. Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Higher temperatures eventually reduce yields of desirable crops while encouraging weed and pest proliferation. Changes in precipitation patterns increase the likelihood of short-run crop failures and long-run production declines. Although there will be gains in some crops in some regions of the world, the overall impacts of climate change on agriculture are expected to be negative, threatening global food security [5]. According to [6] predict an overall reduction of 10 percent in maize production in the year 2055 in Africa and Latin America, equivalent to losses of $2 billion per year, affecting principally 40 million poor livestock keepers in mixed systems of Latin America and 130 million in those of sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change is an important environmental, social and economic issue. It threatens the achievement of Millennium Development Goals aimed at poverty and hunger reduction, health improvement and environmental sustainability. Such issues are particularly important for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where many people depend on