Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in Central America and Mexico: current knowledge and research gaps

Abstract

As governments are becoming aware of the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture many are developing adaptation policies targeting smallholder farmers. However, in many cases, governments lack information to develop them. We reviewed the state of knowledge of smallholder's vulnerability to climate change in Central America and Mexico and identified information gaps that may be preventing the development of adaptation actions targeting this group. While there is information on expected impacts of climate change on agriculture and on adaptation measures that could help minimize impacts, information that specifically assess the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change is very limited. To support adaptation policies targeting smallholders in the region, more information is needed on (a) who the most vulnerable smallholders are and where they are located, (b) what is driving the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in target areas and (c) what are the effectiveness, costs and benefits of adaptation measures recommended for smallholder farmers. Funding and programmes need to be set up to fill those gaps and for adaptation to be effectively implemented. Other regions where smallholder farmers are important for agriculture production may be facing similar issues.

A systematic review of how vulnerability of smallholder agricultural systems to changing climate is assessed in Africa

“…Furthermore, anticipated endusers of assessments should be involved in the assessment process as earlier indicated. Similar recommendations have been at the center of recent systematic reviews of vulnerability assessments in different contexts (Tánago et al 2016, Mcdowell et al 2016, Donatti et al 2018.…”

“…Despite this increase however this research identifies vulnerability scholarship focusing on smallholders in Africa has made limited progress in empowering farmers' adaptation planning. Some recent reviews on vulnerability have been conducted from different contexts, for some examples, how human and biophysical stresses interact to affect vulnerability and problem identification (Delaney et al 2014, Mcdowell et al 2016, drought vulnerability (Tánago et al 2016), dynamism in vulnerability by defining risks posed by changing climate (Jurgilevich et al 2017), with focus ranging from Central America and Mexico (Donatti et al 2018), India (Singh et al 2016) and Canada (Ford and Pearce 2010). However, none of these studies have exclusively focused on smallholder agricultural systems nor with a specific African focus.…”

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

“…Globally, there are an estimated 475 million smallholder farmers cultivating less than 2 ha of land [3], many of whom are poor, experience food insecurity, and live in highly precarious conditions [4,5]. Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to climate change because most depend on rain-fed agriculture, cultivate marginal areas, and lack access to technical or financial support that could help them invest in more climate-resilient agriculture [4,6,7].…”

Avaliação Da Qualidade De Ovos Armazenados Em Diferentes Temperaturas

“…A maioria desses estudos concentrou-se nas principais commodities, como café, milho, arroz, batata, trigo, cana-de-açúcar e soja. Poucos estudos se concentraram na produção de frutas, que é uma importante fonte de renda dos agricultores familiares e pequenos produtores no mundo, e onde esses impactos podem ser particularmente graves devido à alta vulnerabilidade desses agricultores (Donatti et al, 2018;Holland et al al., 2017;Harvey et al, 2018) Os pequenos agricultores (ou agricultores familiares) desempenham um papel importante no sistema agrícola e na segurança alimentar mundial (FAO, 2014).…”