Puerto Rican Farmers' Obstacles Toward Recovery and Adaptation Strategies After Hurricane Maria: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Adaptive Capacity

Abstract

Farmers across the globe are experiencing compounding shocks that make evident the need to better understand potential drivers and barriers to strengthen adaptive capacity. This is especially true in the context of a disaster, where a disruption in the natural and built environment hinders livelihood strategies and exposes the underlying dynamics that perpetuate vulnerability to natural hazards. As such, the interconnections of structural and individual attributes must be considered when evaluating adaptive capacity. This paper uses a convergent mixed-methods approach to assess Puerto Rican farmers' actual and intended adoption of adaptation practices, in light of the obstacles they faced toward recovery after 2017's category four Hurricane Maria, to contribute to better understanding adaptive capacity. This study uses data from 405 farmers across Puerto Rico (87% response rate), surveyed 8 months after Maria by agricultural agents of the Extension Service of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Quantitative data was assessed through negative binomial regressions (actual adoption) and generalized linear models (intended adoption), while qualitative data (reported obstacles) were analyzed through thematic analysis. This study found that almost half of farmers adopted an adaptation practice after Maria, and that in many cases, broader structures, such as systems of governance, farmers' social networks, and infrastructure, affect adaptive capacity more than individual perceptions of capacity. Future adaptation strategies and interventions, especially in the context of disaster, should consider the extent to which structural factors hinder individuals' ability to prepare for, respond, and recover from the impacts of these shocks. Our results show that there might be opportunity to enact new systems in light of catastrophic events, but this does not solely depend on individual actions. The mixed-methods approach used can inform future studies in better assessing adaptive capacity from a standpoint that incorporates individual and structural components.

Social-ecological interactions in a disaster context: Puerto Rican farmer households’ food security after Hurricane Maria

“…This variable was positively and highly correlated with income, and those who were bona fide reported a higher average of network institutions and organizations. This result aligns with other studies that suggest that, in the context of disaster, external sources of support, whether institutional or financial, can support farmers' adaptive capacity to navigate recovery [29,54,97]. These variables also point out to how these individual attributes in 'normal times' may build the resistance and resilience of farming systems [49,98,99], in light of compounding shocks in the ongoing climate crisis.…”

“…Other prominent effects over the agricultural sector included loss of phone, internet communication, access to farms, and impassable roads. Farm management issues, electricity, and fuel shortage, as well as obstacles for access and transportation difficulted farmlands' recovery after Hurricane Maria [29,75,76].…”

“…Results showed that farmers who were farther from Hurricane Maria's track were less likely to report persistent food insecurity. Though landslides were not significant in predicting food security outcomes, those in the persistent food insecurity category resided in municipalities with higher number of landslides, which were the causes of road blockages and slowing farm operations in Puerto Rico [29,75,83,84]. The eye of the hurricane is characterized by sustaining the strongest winds, coupled with sustained rains, which in turn cause more infrastructure damages [74,89].…”

“…Infrastructure damages in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria surpassed the billions of dollars, and many food retailers throughout Puerto Rico were permanently closed or had disrupted operations due to damages [21,80,90,91]. Furthermore, lack of electricity and water catalyzed longer recovery periods [29,75].…”

“…Furthermore, most SIDS are located in the tropics, and are facing the climate crisis's effects disproportionately [1]. These characteristics may shape people's adaptive capacitythe assets and abilities that allow people to mitigate and prepare for shocks, as well as to recover from them, and transform their environment to better sustain impacts [12,[29][30][31][32][33][34]-which may contribute to lengthening negative effects on food security after an extreme weather event [35]. Yet, despite the unique social-ecological characteristics of SIDS, very little research has explored island food security following disasters [20,27,28,36].…”