Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ADAFARM (Small scale farmers’ sustainable adaptation strategies to climate change based on ecosystem services)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2018-10-01 al 2020-09-30
Sub-Saharan Africa has a high proportion of poor population (42%), conserves a high biodiversity concentration (20% of biodiversity hotspots of the world), and is facing high rates of deforestation and ecosystems degradation. Small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa exposed to climate hazards are some of the most vulnerable groups in the world. Therefore, there is an urgent and critical need to find sustainable rural development strategies based on nature that are climate change resilient and that allow people to get out of poverty while conserving and protecting the best natural environment as possible. In this context, ADAFARM searches for robust evidence of the consequences of different strategies for adapting to climate change and increasing the benefits the rural population obtains from nature in Mozambique.
Although ADAFARM is based, in part, on data collected in a previous project (ACES), it also has a significant amount of new data collection. Therefore, from the outset, a theoretical division was made into two parts: one part based on previously collected information and the other based on newly generated data.
The aim is to share the conclusions with the Government of Mozambique, NGOs, and Universities so that they can guide their strategies and policies in the direction indicated by the results, as well as to provide rural communities with the information they need in health, agricultural, legal matters, etc.
Although ADAFARM is based, in part, on data collected in a previous project (ACES), it also has a significant amount of new data collection. Therefore, from the outset, a theoretical division was made into two parts: one part based on previously collected information and the other based on newly generated data.
The aim is to share the conclusions with the Government of Mozambique, NGOs, and Universities so that they can guide their strategies and policies in the direction indicated by the results, as well as to provide rural communities with the information they need in health, agricultural, legal matters, etc.
ADAFARM project started in October 2018 and ended in November 2020.
One of the objectives of the project has been investigating the access and exchange of information of small scale farmers in Mozambique, in order to improve their access to information for adapting to climate change. To do so, different methods were implemented in order to collect data and elicit stakeholders’ knowledge. Specifically, data was gathered from interviews, focus groups discussions and questionnaires focusing on the four study areas, and then combined with both statistical with qualitative analysis. Data was collected using a range of data gathering methods, namely: a) A survey with 100 rural smallholder farmers; b) Interviews with 9 stakeholders (government officials and NGOs technicians), and c) 9 Focus group discussions with local communities and other stakeholders. The results have been presented at one international online conference and will be published in a peer-reviewed research paper.
The second objective aimed to analyse the importance of formal and informal institutions and factors like poverty and gender in the use and application of adaptation strategies to climate change. This task has been developed by the analysis of the data (survey data from 1635 households from the ACES project) using logistic models (regression analysis), using R software. Interesting results have been reached that are included in research paper under development.
The results have been disseminated through different ways, Some of them are:
● https://www.icatalist.eu/adafarm
● Blog posts: https://www.icatalist.eu/blog-icatalist
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FmsNEQr1g0
● https://ec.europa.eu/spain/news/20191011_%20Research-EU-How-the-EU-supports-innovation-and-research_es
● Master Thesis realized by a student from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in the framework of ADAFARM. Title: “Adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its effects for agriculture in Mozambique: review of projects and measures”. June 2020.
● https://www.madrimasd.org/lanochedelosinvestigadores/actividad/madrid-investiga-emprende-diviertete
● Presentations at the Biennial Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Stakeholders Conference (ISBN: 978-9988-8373-3 – 4. 1-2 December 2020):
- Information Sharing for Climate Change Adaptation: Mozambique Small Scale Farmers. Zorrilla-Miras, P., Sá N. Lisboa, Elena Lopez-Gunn, Luis Artur, Almeida Sitoe, Raffaele Giordano.
- Towards a framework for Global Stock Take of adaptation. Insights from stakeholder consultations and review of climate ambitions of 50 African countries. Nowak, A., Pedro Zorrilla-Miras, Noelia Zafra-Calvo, Lucy Njuguna, Maria Jose-Sanz, Elena Lopez-Gunn, Sanjay Vashist, Mozaharul Alam, Chinwe Speranza, Todd S. Rosenstock, Erick Omollo, George Wamukoya. 2020.
● Policy briefs are still being developed, and planned to be distributed along 2021.
One of the objectives of the project has been investigating the access and exchange of information of small scale farmers in Mozambique, in order to improve their access to information for adapting to climate change. To do so, different methods were implemented in order to collect data and elicit stakeholders’ knowledge. Specifically, data was gathered from interviews, focus groups discussions and questionnaires focusing on the four study areas, and then combined with both statistical with qualitative analysis. Data was collected using a range of data gathering methods, namely: a) A survey with 100 rural smallholder farmers; b) Interviews with 9 stakeholders (government officials and NGOs technicians), and c) 9 Focus group discussions with local communities and other stakeholders. The results have been presented at one international online conference and will be published in a peer-reviewed research paper.
The second objective aimed to analyse the importance of formal and informal institutions and factors like poverty and gender in the use and application of adaptation strategies to climate change. This task has been developed by the analysis of the data (survey data from 1635 households from the ACES project) using logistic models (regression analysis), using R software. Interesting results have been reached that are included in research paper under development.
The results have been disseminated through different ways, Some of them are:
● https://www.icatalist.eu/adafarm
● Blog posts: https://www.icatalist.eu/blog-icatalist
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FmsNEQr1g0
● https://ec.europa.eu/spain/news/20191011_%20Research-EU-How-the-EU-supports-innovation-and-research_es
● Master Thesis realized by a student from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in the framework of ADAFARM. Title: “Adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its effects for agriculture in Mozambique: review of projects and measures”. June 2020.
● https://www.madrimasd.org/lanochedelosinvestigadores/actividad/madrid-investiga-emprende-diviertete
● Presentations at the Biennial Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Stakeholders Conference (ISBN: 978-9988-8373-3 – 4. 1-2 December 2020):
- Information Sharing for Climate Change Adaptation: Mozambique Small Scale Farmers. Zorrilla-Miras, P., Sá N. Lisboa, Elena Lopez-Gunn, Luis Artur, Almeida Sitoe, Raffaele Giordano.
- Towards a framework for Global Stock Take of adaptation. Insights from stakeholder consultations and review of climate ambitions of 50 African countries. Nowak, A., Pedro Zorrilla-Miras, Noelia Zafra-Calvo, Lucy Njuguna, Maria Jose-Sanz, Elena Lopez-Gunn, Sanjay Vashist, Mozaharul Alam, Chinwe Speranza, Todd S. Rosenstock, Erick Omollo, George Wamukoya. 2020.
● Policy briefs are still being developed, and planned to be distributed along 2021.
Concerning the first objective of the project, about the access to agricultural information sources, there are important territorial differences within the country. In areas far from the capital, where poverty is more deep, access to information sources is very limited and intermittent. In areas close to the capital, on the other hand, more families have access to radio, television, and even mobile phones or smartphones. In the specifically agricultural field, agricultural extension services are the most important source of information. Agricultural extension services consist of sending government staff to different rural communities to provide support in agricultural matters and, ideally, in other areas related to the quality of life of the community. The objective is to extend these practices to territories that have not had them until now, which is difficult due to the very limited resources of the Government.
It is considered that carrying out this study is very beneficial to encourage the information to come through the appropriate channels, which will enhance its usefulness. The fundamental conclusion is that all sources of information are important for the transmission of different types of information: agricultural extension services transmit mainly technical information on agriculture, the radio transmits general and meteorological information. Similarly, as television becomes more widespread, certain information programs can motivate the adoption of some positive agricultural strategies for rural communities.
Concerning the seconf objective, related to the episodes of hunger suffered by small rural communities, from the already analyzed data, it is concluded that they are mainly due to droughts and floods, with a very limited impact on other factors. The most vulnerable families are very young families, very old families, or families where one of the two parents is missing, which mainly are families headed by a woman. The most frequent solutions applied are: simply reducing food intake (or eating less quality food), resorting to borrowing from family or friends, or trying to find resources in the forest (roots, fruits...). Having a high proportion of woodland land cover increases very importantly the chances of being able to use natural resources for coping with a food scarcity crisis. The use of natural resources is done in the way of food (from fruits, hunting, gathering and fishing), or materials used for obtaining money to buy food. The materials can be processed (furniture, tools, charcoal, bricks), or unprocessed (sticks, thatch, etc.).
As regards transferability, the project is highly transferable to other territories with similar problems, both in terms of its approach and the actions developed. The aim is also to create an online course based on the results of the project so that people working with local communities in Mozambique can receive more specific training on climate change and adaptation strategies.
It is considered that carrying out this study is very beneficial to encourage the information to come through the appropriate channels, which will enhance its usefulness. The fundamental conclusion is that all sources of information are important for the transmission of different types of information: agricultural extension services transmit mainly technical information on agriculture, the radio transmits general and meteorological information. Similarly, as television becomes more widespread, certain information programs can motivate the adoption of some positive agricultural strategies for rural communities.
Concerning the seconf objective, related to the episodes of hunger suffered by small rural communities, from the already analyzed data, it is concluded that they are mainly due to droughts and floods, with a very limited impact on other factors. The most vulnerable families are very young families, very old families, or families where one of the two parents is missing, which mainly are families headed by a woman. The most frequent solutions applied are: simply reducing food intake (or eating less quality food), resorting to borrowing from family or friends, or trying to find resources in the forest (roots, fruits...). Having a high proportion of woodland land cover increases very importantly the chances of being able to use natural resources for coping with a food scarcity crisis. The use of natural resources is done in the way of food (from fruits, hunting, gathering and fishing), or materials used for obtaining money to buy food. The materials can be processed (furniture, tools, charcoal, bricks), or unprocessed (sticks, thatch, etc.).
As regards transferability, the project is highly transferable to other territories with similar problems, both in terms of its approach and the actions developed. The aim is also to create an online course based on the results of the project so that people working with local communities in Mozambique can receive more specific training on climate change and adaptation strategies.