Explaining the ‘hungry farmer paradox’: Smallholders and fair trade cooperatives navigate seasonality and change in Nicaragua's corn and coffee markets

Bacon, Christopher M.; Sundstrom, William A.; Gómez, María Eugenia Flores; Méndez, V. Ernesto; Santos, R. Ruiz; Goldoftas, Barbara; Dougherty, Ian

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.02.005

Cited by 137 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Most farmers (87.2%) also reported having been affected by at least one extreme weather event during the last decade, and many considered that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events were increasing, as is also suggested by projections from climate models [30]. Smallholder farmers are keenly aware of changing climatic conditions because they plan their planting, management, and harvesting activities in response to seasonal rainfall patterns [15,41,49]. They also see visible impacts of extreme temperatures, droughts, or torrential rains on plant growth, flowering, coffee berry ripening, and pest and disease incidence [25,26,50].…”

Section: Climate Change Perceptions Impacts and Responses Of Smallhmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, for example, planted more shade trees in their coffee plots as a response to Hurricane Stan [26]. Similarly, the planting of fruit trees has been reported as a means of reducing food insecurity of farmers under changing climatic conditions [49,63]. However, other practices being used by smallholder farmers in our study landscapes, such as the increased use of fertilizers and agrochemicals to ensure yields under adverse climatic conditions, are resource-intensive solutions that are short-term fixes that are unlikely to contribute to climate resilience and could even be counterproductive to long-term adaptation efforts [15].…”

Section: (244)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

et al. 2018

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Background: Smallholder farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change, yet efforts to support farmer adaptation are hindered by the lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. More information is needed on how different types of smallholder farmers vary in their perceptions and responses to climate change, and how to tailor adaptation programs to different smallholder farmer contexts. We surveyed 860 smallholder coffee and basic grain (maize/bean) farmers across six Central American landscapes to understand farmer perceptions of climate change and the impacts they are experiencing, how they are changing their agricultural systems in response to climate change, and their adaptation needs.Results: Almost all (95%) of the surveyed smallholder farmers have observed climate change, and most are already experiencing impacts of rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events on crop yields, pest and disease incidence, income generation and, in some cases, food security. For example, 87% of maize farmers and 66% of coffee farmers reported negative impacts of climate change on crop production, and 32% of all smallholder farmers reported food insecurity following extreme weather events. Of the farmers perceiving changes in climate, 46% indicated that they had changed their farming practices in response to climate change, with the most common adaptation measure being the planting of trees. There was significant heterogeneity among farmers in the severity of climate change impacts, their responses to these impacts, and their adaptation needs. This heterogeneity likely reflects the wide diversity of socioeconomic and biophysical contexts across smallholder farms and landscapes. Conclusions:Our study demonstrates that climate change is already having significant adverse impacts on smallholder coffee and basic grain farmers across the Central American region. There is an urgent need for governments, donors and practitioners to ramp up efforts to help smallholder farmers cope with existing climate impacts and build resiliency to future changes. Our results also highlight the importance of tailoring of climate adaptation policies and programs to the diverse socioeconomic conditions, biophysical contexts, and climatic stresses that smallholder farmers face.

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Section: Climate Change Perceptions Impacts and Responses Of Smallhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (244)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

et al. 2018

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“…Rather, qualitative evidence for the benefit of a practice was the cumulative result of questionnaires and focus groups with farmers based on their own perceived experiences of climate impacts on their crops, livelihoods and adaptation (Campos et al 2013;Baca et al 2014;Bacon et al 2014;Eakin et al 2014;Milan and Ruano 2014;Rahn et al 2014). Porch et al (2007) did calculate changes in production to assess the relative effect of climate variability as a driver of migration.…”

Section: Assessing Adaptation Outcomes In a Place-based Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crop modelling: towards locally relevant and climate-informed adaptation

Beveridge

Challinor

2018

Climatic Change

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A gap between the potential and practical realisation of adaptation exists: adaptation strategies need to be both climate-informed and locally relevant to be viable. Place-based approaches study local and contemporary dynamics of the agricultural system, whereas climate impact modelling simulates climate-crop interactions across temporal and spatial scales. Cropclimate modelling and place-based research on adaptation were strategically reviewed and analysed to identify areas of commonality, differences, and potential learning opportunities to enhance the relevance of both disciplines through interdisciplinary approaches. Cropmodelling studies have projected a 7-15% mean yield change with adaptation compared to a non-adaptation baseline (Nature Climate Change 4:1-5, 2014). Of the 17 types of adaptation strategy identified in this study as place-based adaptations occurring within Central America, only five were represented in crop-climate modelling literature, and these were as follows: fertiliser, irrigation, change in planting date, change in cultivar and area cultivated. The breath and agency of real-life adaptation compared to its representation in modelling studies is a source of error in climate impact simulations. Conversely, adaptation research that omits assessment of future climate variability and impact does not enable to provide sustainable adaptation strategies to local communities so risk maladaptation. Integrated and participatory methods can identify and reduce these sources of uncertainty, for example, stakeholder's engagement can identify locally relevant adaptation pathways. We propose a research agenda that uses methodological approaches from both the modelling and place-based approaches to work towards climate-informed locally relevant adaptation.

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“…Other studies focus on the injustices and contradictions associated with modern production-oriented food systems e.g., developing case studies showing how low farm worker wages and uncertain immigration status perpetuate food insecurity (Minkoff-Zern 2014a). Finally, some scholars further this critical analysis as they raise pressing questions about how racial and food politics relate to food security assistance efforts that fail to take seriously cultural preferences and local knowledge, aiming to educate food insecure populations on how to cook or bring "good food to others" (Guthman 2008), instead of recognizing the local knowledge and culturally rooted responses among food insecure communities as one of the key starting points for developing responses (Bacon et al 2014;Minkoff-Zern 2014b), or analyzing the root causes of poverty as it relates to hunger (Lambie-Mumford 2013; Hoynes et al 2017).…”

Section: Food Access Mapping Limits and The Challenges Of Everyday Fomentioning

confidence: 99%

The rise of food banks and the challenge of matching food assistance with potential need: towards a spatially specific, rapid assessment approach

Bacon

Baker

2017

Agric Hum Values

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Explaining the ‘hungry farmer paradox’: Smallholders and fair trade cooperatives navigate seasonality and change in Nicaragua's corn and coffee markets

Cited by 137 publications

References 81 publications

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

Crop modelling: towards locally relevant and climate-informed adaptation

The rise of food banks and the challenge of matching food assistance with potential need: towards a spatially specific, rapid assessment approach

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