AJAD Volume 18 Issue No. 2 December 2021

This paper discusses the results of new research at the farm level regarding farmers’ responses to climate change. These results are placed in the context of existing literature. The topics include the benefits of adaptation, the forms of adaptation, and the drivers of adaptation such as land tenure, water allocation systems, the operation of labor markets, and the extent of social capital. Moreover, this paper examines farmers’ responses to market signals as they consider adaptation options and the connections of these options with infrastructure quality. It also reviews policy options that support adaptation. 
 

This study investigated the climate change vulnerability of 6,214 households in the drought-prone districts of Telangana state in India. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were used to group farm households based on their level of vulnerability to climate change and to suggest a portfolio of adaptation strategies. The PCA revealed the presence of five components from 14 key variables: (1) access to irrigation; (2) credit access, landholding, and income from agriculture; (3) household size and income sources; (4) access to information and climate-smart adaptation practices; and (5) social capital. The first five components (eigenvalue ≥ 1) collectively accounted for 60.42 percent of the total variance. Three clusters emerged after the component scores were analyzed using K-means clustering: extremely vulnerable, moderately vulnerable, and resilient households. The results of the cluster analysis revealed that 79 percent of the households were extremely vulnerable, 11.20 percent were moderately vulnerable, and 9.65 percent were resilient. Moreover, 96 percent of marginal farmers and 94 percent of smallholder farmers were extremely vulnerable, while 19 percent of large farmers and 16 percent of medium farmers were moderately vulnerable. Interestingly, nearly 26 percent in the extremely vulnerable category and 19 percent in the moderately vulnerable category were large farmers, which contradicts previous assumptions. The findings of this study can guide development practitioners, policymakers, and donors in designing evidence-based programs focusing on households vulnerable to climate change.

This research investigated the outcomes and social effects of a community-based development project in the form of a rice-based community intervention. Conducted in Regions 1, 6, and 10 in the Philippines, it employed mixed methods to gather quantitative and qualitative data concurrently from 86 randomly sampled farmer-cooperators and 20 purposively sampled key informants who were project implementers and facilitators.
    The project improved the farmer-cooperators’ human capital and social capital. They had high to very high knowledge of the component technologies of the PalayCheck System, as well as corn, mushroom, and vegetable production, after the project was implemented. PalayCheck is a rice integrated crop management system that presents the key technologies and management practices as Key Checks, which farmers need to learn, check, and share. The t-test showed a highly significant increase in almost all of the production technologies except for duck raising and bitter gourd production, which were only mildly significant. There were also significant increases in their groups and networks, trust and solidarity, collective action and cooperation, and social cohesion and inclusion after the project. Moreover, there was a highly significant increase in the farmer-cooperators’ social capital. However, the number of conflicts or disputes among the farmer-cooperators and the members of the farmer association was only mildly significant.
    The project also provided economic benefits to the farmer-cooperators, such as an increase in yields and incomes, through their continued adoption of the production technologies taught during training. The results further show that the increase in yields was sustained except in certain years when some of the farmer-cooperators experienced low yields due to pest problems, drought, typhoons, and other calamities. Overall, the paired sample t-test revealed a highly significant increase in mean yields in Year 1 to Year 5 after the project than before the project in the three regions. Participation and empowerment outcomes were also observed, such as greater access to information, resources, support services, and training and employment opportunities as well as improved participation in project-related decision-making and community activities.

This study analyzed the effects of access to safe drinking water on the nutritional status of children under the age of 59 months in urban and rural areas in Indonesia using the Indonesian Family Life Survey 5. Both piped water and packaged water were considered safe to drink. The descriptive statistics show that children in rural areas typically had insufficient access to safe drinking water and children who consumed safe drinking water had higher short- and long-term nutrition levels. To mitigate selection bias due to the non-random distribution of access to safe drinking water, a matching estimation was used to quantitatively determine the effects of access to safe drinking water on child nutrition. The provision of safe drinking water improved the short- and long-term nutritional status of children in rural areas but had no significant effect to that of children in urban areas. A simulation of this effect on child nutrition shows that in rural areas, improved access to safe drinking water decreases the stunting ratio by 13 percentage points and the wasting ratio by 6.1 percentage points. Additionally, both household income levels and community drinking water prices are important determinants of access to safe drinking water. Therefore, access to safe drinking water is necessary to improve the nutritional status of children in rural Indonesia, and community characteristics contribute to access.
 

This paper presents a ridge-to-reef case study on Philippine biodiversity conservation that focused on reducing agricultural chemicals as a contribution to development goals of optimized food security, improving water quality, and mitigating maternal malnutrition. Building upon an earlier study that engaged participants and jurisdictions, farmers were oriented on biodiversity considerations and engaged in ecologically-based rodent management that was extended across the province of Aurora through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. Subsequently, a Participatory Action Research and Learning (PARL) cycle was conducted among 14 farmer participants to support biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Developed with local farmers, a biodiversity assessment demonstrated that organic approaches in rice farms increased arthropod biodiversity and reduced the number of key insect pests. The organizational results from this biodiversity study further indicated that local government participation can promote positive change by helping overcome the disconnect between communities and sustainability research. The approach to biodiversity-friendly agriculture reached a milestone through the collaborative development of an agricultural protected area supported by drafting a municipal ordinance to encourage the continued expansion of biodiversity-friendly agriculture and reductions in the chemical load of a key Aurora watershed. This paper discusses the biodiversity analysis and organizational results within the context of trans-ecosystem knowledge management and the goal of improving chronic maternal malnutrition that has been identified in coastal settlements of Aurora.