Engaging Farmers in Climate Change Adaptation Planning: Assessing Intercropping as a Means to Support Farm Adaptive Capacity

Abstract

Abstract:Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable and adaptation-prone sources of livelihood facing climate change. Joint adaptation planning by farmers and researchers can help develop practically feasible and environmentally and economically sound adaptation actions as well as encourage the proactive building of farm adaptive capacity. Here, the perceptions of Finnish farmers and rural stakeholders regarding intercropping, the cultivation of two or more crop genotypes together in time and space, as a means to prepare for climate change, were collected in an open workshop. Our aim was to identify the potentials and challenges associated with intercropping, its role as an adaptation strategy, and in farm adaptive capacity. Qualitative analysis revealed better yield security, increased nutrient and protein self-sufficiency, soil conservation and maintenance, reduced pathogen pressure and regulation of water dynamics as the main perceived potentials of intercropping. Potentials relating to the farm economy and environment were also recognized. The main challenges associated with intercropping were related to the lack of information on crop variety performance and optimal yielding in mixtures, industry and policy requirements for seed purity, more complicated crop management and harvesting, and the economic risks associated with experimenting with novel mixtures. Nitrogen-fixing legumes; deep-rooted species, such as lucerne (Medicago sativa L.); special crops, such as herbs in forage mixtures; and autumn-sown winter oilseeds and cereals were highlighted as the most promising intercrops. Because the recognized potentials relate to the safeguarding of field cropping from anticipated climate change and the associated weather variability, we conclude that intercropping can serve as one adaptation strategy to strengthen the adaptive capacity of Finnish farms. However, assuring markets and policies that allow the development of intercropping, performing experiments to assess the benefits and implement options in practice, and providing farmers and farm advisors with more knowledge on the method represent the critical prerequisites for the broader adoption of intercropping.

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

“…Agricultural diversification, i.e., the spatial and temporal diversification of BCS, has been intensively investigated over the past centuries, mainly according to agro-ecological farming practices such as intercropping [116], agroforestry [117][118][119][120], and polycultures [121]. Species-rich meadows [59] or perennial wild plant mixtures [88,122] are promising approaches to increase both the spatial and temporal diversity of BCS for biomass and bioenergy supply [76,108,123,124].…”

The potential of agroecology to build climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems

“…Spatial heterogeneity in agroecological systems is expressed mainly through intercropping and plant mixtures such as in agroforestry. The potential of intercropping as a resilience-building strategy can be in reducing pathogen pressure (reducing vulnerability) and in managing soil water dynamics in the occurrence of drought or even floods (Himanen et al, 2016).…”

Analysing trade-offs in adaptation decision-making—agricultural management under climate change in Finland and Sweden

“…While climate impact and adaptation studies indicate that agriculture in northern European regions needs to adapt to changing climatic conditions Eckersten et al 2012;Iglesias et al 2012), only a few studies specifically address the adaptation needs, capacities, barriers or consequences specific to Nordic agriculture (e.g. Lehtonen 2015;Himanen et al 2016). Agricultural studies in relation to climate change in Finland and Sweden have rarely had adaptation as a central focus (Wiréhn 2018) even though adaptation can be considered a necessity in future Nordic agriculture.…”