*2.3. Sources of Data and Methods of Data Collection*

The data used in this study were obtained mainly from the National Meteorology Agency of Ethiopia and smallholder farmers. The study used gridded daily data of rainfall, maximum temperature (Tmax), and minimum temperature (Tmin) of one grid point in each agro-ecological setting covering the period of 30 years, 1988 to 2017. The dataset has a spatial resolution of 4km that combines station observations and satellite data from the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The use of a gridded dataset was necessitated by the limited availability of weather stations [12] and the problem of missing records of rainfall and temperature values in observation data [13], which reduces the validity of time-series trend analysis derived from incomplete data.

Primary data were collected between February and August 2018 from the heads (male or female heads primary responsible for making decisions and generating means of living primarily from agricultural activities) of the sampled smallholder farming households using survey questionnaires and focus group discussions. A paper-based survey questionnaire consisting of close-ended questions was used to collect data on farmers' perceptions of changes in climate variables in their localities. The questionnaire was pilot tested to assure completeness and clarity. Enumerators who have prior data collection experience as well as accustomed to the study areas were recruited and trained on the content of the questionnaire as well as on techniques of interviewing to collect the survey data. On-spot checking of the questionnaires was made to ensure completeness. In addition, skip rules and ranges were introduced to the data entry software to generate automated error reports during data entry. Furthermore, the accuracy of the entered data was assessed by running frequencies and cross-tabulations, and wrong entries were corrected. Qualitative data were collected using focus group discussions (FGDs). It was used to capture farmers' understanding of climate change and variability and the use of weather information to make farming decisions. Each group constituting seven to twelve members, four focus group discussions were conducted in each study district. The discussion, which took an hour on average and conducted in a local language, was moderated by the corresponding author and guided by open-ended questions. The audio-recorded discussion was first transcribed and then translated to English before textual analysis.
