scholarly journals Drivers, Barriers and Success Factors in Climate Change Adaptation for Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 454-462
Author(s):  
Tuan M. Ha ◽  
Tuyet Truong ◽  
Huong Hoang ◽  
Bac Ho
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Extension Services ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
Local Farmers

This paper aims to identify appropriate approaches and interventions of local governments and extension services through identifying the most potential adaptive measures in agricultural production of local farmers in Thai Nguyen province (Vietnam) and analyses of key drivers, barriers and success factors for climate change adaptation (CCA).The study was conducted during October 2019 – April 2020 in Thai Nguyen and two selected communes with 92 smallholder farmers and relevant stakeholders from the provincial to commune levels using both quantitative and qualitative methods.Results showed a highly vulnerable situation of the local farmers under the context of climate change with 60.9% and 44.6% of the interviewed farmers stating reduced crop/livestock productivity and crop losses, and reduced arable production land and number of crop seasons/year respectively.Ten most potential livelihood models and production practices were identified. For example, animal husbandry (pigs, cattle) combined with biogas digester installation; intercropping between fruit crops and annual crops; use of drought and disease resistant maize varieties; changes of crop patterns and calendars; water saving production techniques, etc. Driver, barriers and success factors for CCA suggestguiding actions for the local government and extension services to plan adequate approaches and interventions for embracing and upscalingthe CCA initiatives towards climate resilient farming communities.The guiding actions include:strengthening capacity of extension staff; providing update market information to farmers for their decisions of crops and livestock; disseminating new and locally appropriate CCA models and practices together with on-field demo-plots and farmer field schools; and building capacity for community organisations, production groups/cooperatives to promote community learning for wider adoption and thus sustainability of their farming systems in response to the changing environment.

scholarly journals Understanding and Changing Farming, Food & Fiber Systems. The Organic Cotton Case in Mali and West Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian L. Nicolay
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Science ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sciences

Abstract Science should be capable of covering issues as diverse as farming systems, technology, innovation, climate change adaptation, poverty alleviation, extension, policy and practice, as they all relate to sustainable agriculture and development. Some years ago, the call for a new farming systems approach was raised to accommodate the principles of interdisciplinary, systems thinking and participatory research. Society calls for systems performance that provides stability and sustainability (SDGs!), multi-scale and territorial approaches and looks for solutions for critical issues such as employment, migration and inclusion/exclusion at the global level (World Society). We propose here a way in dealing with this complexity by addressing the mentioned problem from the communication and symbolic perspective, i.e. to consider the "object" within agricultural science but mainly observe the dedicated systems of communication. By using the concept of social systems, we can accommodate under it systems as diverse as farms, extension organizations, innovation patterns, (agricultural) sciences, policy and politics, farmer and indigenous knowledge, markets and value chains, but always in the form of communication. As such, we remain within a discipline with the potential to evolve towards a promising sub-discipline of agricultural sciences (or of sociology?). The relatively new farming approach of certified organic in combination with agroecology is relevant for family farms and small-scale entities. It depends much more on societal support for extension, technology development and policy coherence than commercial farms. Organic agriculture, with its standards, technological requirements and consumer preferences is nested in socio-economic and political networks, which makes it challenging for researchers to integrate the various components. This challenge applies particularly to countries with poorly developed institutions, weak organizations and within the context of poverty and rural exodus. We therefore use a unified approach under a single scientific system. This system observes, analyses and reports on communication aspects of involved (observed!) social systems (including networks and interactions) within the society of any given nation, including the realities of globalized markets. We are developing a case study based in Mali, in which we apply this method. The case is describing a planning process involving cotton farmers from the Sikasso region, the cotton industry, public and private extension systems, farmer organizations, local governments, the NARS (IER), FiBL, donors and the national institutions involved in climate change adaptation and food security. Various technological options of production (conventional, organic) and farming systems are available. The reflexive use of science dealing with human behavior may facilitate the pragmatic participation of researchers from various disciplines in addressing the uncertainties and opportunities that lie ahead of us and achieve the required impacts together with the practitioners.

scholarly journals Post-NAFTA Changes in Peasant Land Use—The Case of the Pátzcuaro Lake Watershed Region in the Central-West México

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Astier ◽  
Quetzalcóatl Orozco-Ramírez ◽  
Robert Walker ◽  
Yankuic Galván-Miyoshi ◽  
Carlos González-Esquivel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Feed ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
The Impact

Rural life in México has changed drastically over the past several decades in the wake of structural reforms in the 1980s and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) implemented in 1994. Researchers predicted dire consequences for smallholder farmers following trade liberalization and in certain respects the prophecies have been fulfilled. Indeed, many regions experienced significant out-migration as smallholders, unable to compete with global maize imports without price subsidies, sold or abandoned their lands, making way for the expansion of industrial agriculture into forests, secondary vegetation and primary crops. Nevertheless, many smallholders have adapted to the new economic environment with farming systems that manage risk by diversifying portfolios to incorporate commercialized maize and livestock production. This article examines the evolution of smallholder farming systems since the mid 1980s, when the impact of neoliberal reforms emerged, using data collected from field research on 130 smallholder farms in the Pátzcuaro Lake Watershed (PLW) in the State of Michoacán. Farmers in the PLW have been characterized as traditional peasant farmers, planting crops for subsistence, including a diverse array of domestic maize varieties and practicing limited animal husbandry with chickens, turkeys, pigs, an oxen and a cow or two for milk. But the results presented in this article show that the traditional peasant farming systems in the region have changed substantially to a highly diversified agriculture-cattle-forest system. Most notable changes include the use of fertilizers and pesticides; and the increase in livestock herd and reorientation to beef production. The results demonstrate the resilience of smallholder farmers, while at the same time raising potential concern that increased reliance on livestock and beef production specialization, might lead to shifts in farming systems that replace domestic maize varieties with hybrid corn used primarily for animal feed and thereby leaving vulnerable the genetic reservoir of traditional maize landraces.

scholarly journals Adaptive Planning and Climate Focused Evaluation in an Era of Evolving Local Governance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Coates
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New York ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Adaptive Planning

The interconnected relationship between cities and global climate change has led to the creation of a growing number of municipal climate change adaptation plans. Currently, there exist relatively few well known criteria on the best ways to evaluate these documents following their implementation. This study begins with a review of evaluation literature and policy reports drawn from four principle agencies considered to be at the forefront of climate change adaptation planning in Canada. Findings are then used to explore how the Cities of Toronto and New York have successfully incorporated evaluation criteria into their adaptation plans. Lessons are presented for both planning practitioners and local governments concerning the implementation of successful climate-focused evaluation criteria. Overall findings suggest that numerous tools exist for evaluating adaptation plans including important performance-based approaches. Agency commitment and persons assigned to conduct the evaluation as well as integration into an ongoing planning process were also found to be key success factors while evaluation outcomes were found to reflect the resources and expertise available given the present voluntary nature of climate plans.

scholarly journals Adaptive Planning and Climate Focused Evaluation in an Era of Evolving Local Governance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Coates
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New York ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Adaptive Planning

The interconnected relationship between cities and global climate change has led to the creation of a growing number of municipal climate change adaptation plans. Currently, there exist relatively few well known criteria on the best ways to evaluate these documents following their implementation. This study begins with a review of evaluation literature and policy reports drawn from four principle agencies considered to be at the forefront of climate change adaptation planning in Canada. Findings are then used to explore how the Cities of Toronto and New York have successfully incorporated evaluation criteria into their adaptation plans. Lessons are presented for both planning practitioners and local governments concerning the implementation of successful climate-focused evaluation criteria. Overall findings suggest that numerous tools exist for evaluating adaptation plans including important performance-based approaches. Agency commitment and persons assigned to conduct the evaluation as well as integration into an ongoing planning process were also found to be key success factors while evaluation outcomes were found to reflect the resources and expertise available given the present voluntary nature of climate plans.

scholarly journals Characterizing and tailoring climate change adaptation practices into a diversified agroecosystem 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsega Adego
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Terrain Analysis

Abstract Smallholder farmers require viable adaptation strategies for climate change. Adaptation project might be mal-practiced unless it considers the local diversity. This paper argued that the challenge of agriculture in developing countries in general and Ethiopia, in particular, is much diversified and thus interventions require a systematic shift to specific agro-ecosystems. In light of this, we used agro-ecosystem analysis to design locally appropriate adaptation strategies specific to Rib watershed in Ethiopia. The agro-ecosystem uses three inputs of agro-climatic zoning, soil type and terrain analysis, and farming systems. We used primary data collected from 383 randomly selected farm-households. The survey data was supplemented by key-informant interviews, focus group discussions and secondary data. We characterized and mapped the study area in two distinct groups of agro-ecosystems: Fogera plain and Libo-Farta highlands. The finding portrayed that across these agro-ecosystems, there was considerable difference in the: potentials, constraints, crop type, income distribution, and soil type. We found blanket application of the same strategies irrespective of these heterogeneities. The income distribution shows that the poorest 20 percent of the population share about 5 percent of the income. Relatively the plain has less income inequality with 38.3 as compared to the highlands Gini coefficient of 42.8. Looking only at the average distribution of income does not reveal the inequality. It is important to disaggregate into the specific agroecosystems. The study identified that drainage projects, fruit trees, and fishing are among the prioritized adaptation strategies for the plain while conservation structures, irrigation, agroforestry are tailored to the highland areas. It is important to consider diversities before intervention.

scholarly journals Local Institutions in Climate Change Adaptation by Smallholder Farmers: A farm level study in Homabay County, Kenya.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-199
Author(s):  
Danice Otieno Awinda; Raphael Kapiyo; Jackson John Kitetu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
External Support ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Adaptation Practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of local institutions in climate change adaptation by smallholder farmers in Homabay County, Kenya. The study employed cross-sectional survey design in which data was collected from smallholder farmers in one survey round. Quantitative data was collected from 398 smallholder farmers, while 48 key informant interviews and 12 focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data to buttress information from farmers. Data was analysed using frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulations and chi-square at 0.05 significance level. The study established that local institutions and social networks had a positive influence on climate change adaptation by smallholder farmers. Local institutions and social groups enable smallholder farmers to deploy specific climate change adaptation practices. Local institutions pursue adoption of effective adaptation strategies relevant to local needs of the smallholder farmers. They also provide information on climate change adaptation options and give some external support to enable farmers cope with climate change. The study recommended the need to promote institutional partnership to enhance climate change adaptation at local level. Partnerships among local institutions are associated with area specific adaptation practices and communal pooling. The study also recommended the need to enhance the capacity of local institutions as the impacts of climate change are likely to intensify with time. Support in the form of new information and technology aimed at improving effective coping mechanisms and financial support will be necessary.

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