Building resilience: Adaptation mechanisms and mainstreaming for the poor

human development, climate change

Supporting climate change adaptation using historical climate analysis

Climate change and variability presents a major challenge for rural communities in developing countries. Bridging organisations have a role in helping align top-down and local perspectives, mediating the communication messages that ultimately shape the effectiveness of adaptation responses. We argue that for any coping or adaptation project a first step should be to determine the nature of the climate norms within the project area in order to ascertain the efficacy of current coping strategies. This paper explores the degree to which development organisations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania used analysis of local historical climate information in project aims, planning and design. Sixty seven participants, managing 102 community-level climate-related agricultural projects, and three NGO case studies were included. Most projects focused on low-regret options. The majority of respondents’ projects included enhancing farmers’ awareness of climate change and variability as an aim, but only seven percent had used any historical climate information during planning. Instead projects relied on general knowledge or farmers’ perceptions, which can sometimes differ from analysed historical climate information, thus potentially leading to a cycle of reinforcement of perceptions. It is vital that bridging organisations and policy makers be aware of the value of using analysed historical climate information to determine the climate norms (including variability) and to identify what the data shows regarding how the climate is changing. This is essential for planning, consideration with stakeholders, and for example to determine suitability of alternative crops and cultivars or to ensure other relevant environmental factors influencing agricultural production are considered

Comparing farmers’ qualitative evaluation of soil fertility with quantitative soil fertility indicators in Kitui County, Kenya

Soil fertility is vital for agricultural productivity, yet poor soils and erosion remain a management challenge in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. One challenge is that soil scientists and farmers often evaluate soil fertility using different knowledge systems and the implications have not been clearly reconciled within the literature. In particular, whether farmers are observing similar aspects of structure and function as classified in soil science. If so, what can we learn about how soil fertility is evaluated and communicated in terms of developing a hybrid approach that improves communication of ideas between different stakeholders. This paper addresses this challenge by examining the similarities and differences between farmers’ qualitative evaluation and soil science quantitative analysis for soil fertility classification, and how location of soils influence farmers’ evaluation of soil fertility. Empirical fieldwork was carried out in two villages in Kitui County, Kenya with 60 farmers using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion. Based on farmer perception, 116 soil samples of the best and worst soil fertility taken and analysed for physiochemical factors. Farmers had a consistent classification system and primarily relied on texture and colour as indicators for good soil fertility and texture alone for poor soils. Soils with fine texture under the local semi-arid climate were associated with higher pH, TOC and WHC and fertile black and red soils were associated with pH, TOC, WHC and AP based on differences in bed rock. Poor soil fertility was associated with sandy soils and soils with no colour in their local name. Spatial location is an important consideration in farmers’ evaluations, reflecting awareness of local diversity in soil and historical social or environmental factors. Local historical narratives reveal the importance in changes to humus, consistent with technical knowledge about the role of soil organic matter for soil fertility. The paper provides better understanding of farmers’ soil classification, evaluation processes and perspectives that help to inform scientists working with alternative frameworks for assessment and, in doing so, supports the development of local tailor-made soil assessment systems

Thematic collages in participatory photography: a process for understanding the adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming in India

This paper presents the use of thematic collages as a methodological innovation to participatory photography as a research framework. Participatory photography was used to understand the subjective “off-script” motivations behind the full or partial adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by members of women’s self-help groups in Andhra Pradesh, India. The addition of thematic collages to existing participatory photography methods was developed as a mechanism to better support the dialogic generation of new Freirean “generative themes” for investigation by a group. Further, the use of thematic collages invites the integration of “renegade” or non-thematic images into participant group analysis. ZBNF is an agricultural practice that has become an extension priority in Andhra Pradesh. It emphasizes the use of defined chemical-free inputs and regenerative farming techniques as a holistic approach toward socio-ecological resilience. As part of an interdisciplinary research project, this participatory photography design was piloted parallel to a soil science experiment in three geographically distinct agroecological zones in Andhra Pradesh. We show how participatory photography, with the novel addition of thematic collages, can be integrated into interdisciplinary research as a method to discover the root causes underlying motivations to adopt agricultural practices and participate in agricultural movements like Zero Budget Natural Farming

New possibilities for women’s empowerment through agroecology in Himachal Pradesh, India

In 2018, the state of Himachal Pradesh in north India launched an initiative to convert all its farmers to natural farming (NF), an agroecological approach. The aim was to address multiple challenges related to rural livelihoods, high input costs, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. This paper is based on a qualitative case study of the state programme to transition farmers to NF. It seeks to understand how its mechanisms support and empower small and marginal women farmers. In addition to identifying mechanisms that facilitate the effective uptake of NF, the case study sought women’s views on whether these mechanisms increased spaces for decision making and developed capabilities and autonomy. Framed within the vision of reclaiming food sovereignty, various mechanisms such as training in villages, participating in NF groups and networks, visits to model farms, and adopting leadership roles offered new pathways for women farmers to gain confidence and capabilities. Women began to participate in spaces that had been culturally and structurally denied to them. This case study demonstrates how agroecology initiatives, with a particular emphasis on gender, can offer women various opportunities for decision making, income generation, and creative expression. These initiatives also expand community agency and enable the acquisition of knowledge necessary for sustainable ecosystems

Advancing a new index for measuring household vulnerability to food insecurity

This paper develops a Vulnerability to Food Insecurity Index (VFII). Currently, there is no standard indicator of vulnerability analysis in food security research, and this paper responds to this challenge. The primary objective in this paper is to demonstrate how to develop a potential indicator and establish its validity through comparison with other traditional food security indicators, such as per capita calorie consumption (PCC), food consumption score (FCS) and the coping strategy index (CPI). Structurally, Vulnerability to Food Insecurity Index is a multidimensional index of the probability of covariate shock occurring (exposure), the accumulative experience of food insecurity (sensitivity) and coping ability of households (adaptive capacity). The paper applies the index to households in southern Nigeria, using the World Bank’s generalised household panel dataset. The results show 61% of households in the study to be highly vulnerable to food insecurity, 12% mildly vulnerable and 27% not vulnerable. Traditional and single indicators, such as FCS and PCC are not good indicators of vulnerability to food insecurity whereas CPI is a better indicator of vulnerability to food insecurity compared to FCS and PCC. The VFII developed in this paper includes components of FCS, PCC, and CPI and regarding ranking, the VFII was found to be reliable. Most importantly, the analysis using the VFII reveals how dietary diversity or calorie consumption indicators can exclude some households who are vulnerable to food insecurity. The paper concluded that accurately target long-term support to vulnerable households, policymakers who seek to address the underlying causes of food insecurity cannot rely on single indicators, and for this type of goal, the VFII makes a useful contribution

RAINWATCH handbook: a step by step guide to using RAINWATCH, version 1.0

The RAINWATCH Handbook has been designed to help RAINWATCH users navigate the web-based RAINWATCH system. Examples of use include policy discussions within the MoFA (Ministry of Food and Agriculture) to discuss with crop scientists, extension officers and farmers the implications of the RAINWATCH information to improve decision-making through the season. Farmers who are practicing rain-fed or irrigated agriculture require timely, accurate season-to-date and forward looking rainfall information for planning purposes. Another example of use could be to improve information provided to farmers via radio or via NGO activities that require weather information for their projects. The Handbookl includes a series of easy to follow step-by-step visuals based on the RAINWATCH training presentations to help new users/priducers of information understand the different views and content to make informed selections of the available content for their decision use cases

Inclusive participation, self-governance and sustainability: current challenges and opportunities for women in leadership of communal irrigation systems

Genuine inclusive participation in the self-governance of communal irrigation systems remains a challenge. This article analyses the mechanisms of participation in irrigation water users’ associations (WUAs) with focus on women as leaders of those organizations by drawing on cases from a comparative, multicase mixed-method study in Ethiopia and Argentina. After having being a topic for decades in gender and development debates, in many irrigated areas of the world WUAs continue to be male dominated at all levels, especially in influential positions. Findings in this article suggest that despite large socio-economic and cultural differences, the current water management systems in both research locations reinforce problems of unequal gender participation; women have more obstacles and constraints in establishing equal access in membership, participation and decision making in irrigation management. The lack of inclusive participation and the low representation of women in leadership roles lead to WUAs being poorly rooted in their community of users. Incomplete social rootedness of WUAs jeopardizes their effectiveness and equality in water management and, as a result, affects long-term sustainability. Through analysis of empirical data of communal small-scale irrigation systems in both countries, the article discusses who participates, how and why they participate, and the reasons for low numbers of women in leadership roles within the WUAs. Finally, the article reflects on possible enabling conditions that could foster inclusive participation, increase the quantity and capacity of women in management and leadership roles, and the benefits this may bring to sustainable irrigation systems

Gendering sugarcane farming: understanding the plight of sugarcane block farmers in Batangas, Philippines

In the Philippines, sugarcane farming is perceived to be a male occupation, meaning female smallholder farmers tend to be overlooked by extension and policy. While research on sugarcane farming and production processes has been extensive, there is limited understanding of the impact of gender dynamics in family farmers’ day-to-day lived experiences in the Philippines and the implications these have on the sugarcane production process. This paper asks whether and how recognising gender dynamics in sugarcane farming in the Philippines can identify an enabling environment for production and empowerment for family farmers. Using forty semi-structured interviews and four focus group discussions of forty participants from Balayan and Calaca, Batangas, Philippines, the research adopts a transcendental phenomenological approach to reveal the lived experiences of block farm members and implications for the block farm system and sugarcane production. The thematic analysis finds institutionalising the block farm system to have had a considerable impact in terms of the assistance provided by the government to harness the knowledge of the sugarcane family farmers to adapt to the modern technologies provided to them. Additionally, patriarchal views in Filipino society restrict that of female family farmers, particularly those who hold key positions in the sugarcane block farm system

Impact of zero budget natural farming on crop yields in Andhra Pradesh, SE India

It has been claimed that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a burgeoning practice of farming in India based on low-inputs and influenced by agro-ecological principles, has the potential to improve farm viability and food security. However, there is concern that the success of the social movement fueling the adoption of ZBNF has become out of step with the science underpinning its performance relative to other farming systems. Based on twenty field plot experiments established across six districts in Andhra Pradesh (SE India), managed by locally based farmer researchers, we present the first ‘on the ground’ assessment of ZBNF performance. We show that there is no short-term yield penalty when adopting ZBNF in small scale farming systems compared to conventional and organic alternatives. In terms of treatment response, we observed differences between agro-climatic zones, but in this initial evaluation we cannot recommend specific options tuned to these different contexts