Social network.

Smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate change varies due to socio-economic and biophysical factors, requiring a context-specific assessment. This study examines livelihood vulnerability in the face of climate change in the Sidaama Region, Ethiopia. A mixed-methods approach with a descriptive and explanatory sequential design was employed. Data from 391 systematically sampled households were analyzed using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework (LVI_IPCC), alongside Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s tests. Results of LVI analysis indicate that the Lowland agroecological zone (AEZ) is the most vulnerable (0.466), followed by the Highland (0.412), while the Midland is least vulnerable (0.376). The Highland AEZ showed greater sensitivity to climate change, whereas the Lowland had the weakest adaptive capacity. The Kruskal-Wallis H test confirmed significant differences in vulnerability across AEZs (H = 49.083, p