Work

Climate Change Adaptation, Food Security, and Attitudes toward Risk among Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Nicaragua

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Farmers’ livelihoods are uniquely vulnerable to climate change, and taking adaptive measures to changing environmental conditions constitutes one of the most important pathways for protecting them. Their willingness and capacity to adopt improved practices and technologies, their cognitive and behavioural preferences, and the institutional response mechanisms will go a long way in determining their success in their adaptation to climate change. This study presents results of an analysis of the vulnerabilities of smallholder coffee producers in Nicaragua to climate change. I use descriptive analyses and experimental risk games to evaluate the preferences and attitudes of coffee producers in the context of their adaptation to climate change. I show that food insecure households are more risk-averse than food-secure households and that much work is needed in the sector to ensure equity and improve institutional capacity. For households in chronic poverty, conventional risk management strategies simply may not be enough. Institutional arrangements must be put in place to enable coffee-growing households to engage in practices that result in improved capacity for climate change adaptation.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su12176946

Author: Aniseh S. Bro

Institution: Appalachian State University

Language: English

Topic: Climate change impacts on agriculture

Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, No poverty, Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,901