Author : Rafael A. Quijada Landaverde
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,70 MB
Release : 2022
Category : Agricultural education
ISBN :
Book Description
In Peru, climate change is affecting the livelihoods of thousands of subsistence farmers. For this productive agricultural sector, changes such as rising temperatures, reduced rainfall patterns, and increased incidence of extreme weather events often result in losses of farming assets, compromising their food availability and financial resources (Benson, 2021). The changing nature of the climate and its multiple effects on farmer livelihoods highlight the need to understand how subsistence farmers adapt their agricultural production while coping with the speed and intensity of climate variability (Deressa et al., 2009). Although farmers continue to implement adaptability strategies, climate change speed exceeds their adaptability capacities. This study in Huayhuay, Peru, implemented a multi-stage mixed methods research design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2018) to explore climate adaptation and coping processes, focusing on the experiences of subsistence farmers. Based on the conceptual framework informed by Scoones' (1998) Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, the Coping and Adaptative Entitlements Framework (Davis, 1996), and the Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Theory (Kosko, 1986), data were collected using a survey instrument and semi-structured interviews in stage I, whose results were embedded in workshop sessions in stage II. As in previous research, the results showed a high level of perception among subsistence farmers about climate change, while strategies implemented as response mechanisms to climate variability were identified. Furthermore, within the community-based cognitive map, a complex network of connections between local factors and dynamics of climate adaptability was found. Finally, a scenario analysis demonstrated how variation in specific driving components influences climate adaptability processes in Huayhuay. The implications of this study highlight the importance of involving farmers in any agricultural livelihood-related action and policy. Furthermore, results offer relevant avenues for improving climate action. To promote more efficient and inclusive climate adaptability among farmers, more research is needed to contrast farmers' perceptions of climate change with other stakeholders involved in climate adaptability.