Adaptation processes in agriculture and food security: Insights from evaluating behavioral changes in West Africa

PROGRAMME AFRIQUE CENTRALE ET OCCIDENTALE (PACO) PROGRAMME AFRIQUE CENTRALE ET OCCIDENTALE (PACO)

Adaptation processes in agriculture and food security: Insights from evaluating behavioral changes in West Africa

Somda Jacques*, Zougmoré Robert, Sawadogo Issa, Bationo B. André, Sanou Josias, Barry Silamana, Buah Saaka, Abass Amadou Tougiani.

* Presenter. Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

PROGRAMME AFRIQUE CENTRALE ET OCCIDENTALE (PACO)

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I. Searching for adaptation metrics

• To achieve the sustainable development goals, adaptation to climate change and lower emission intensities per development output will be necessary.

• But how can we ascertain that the development outputs are effectively sustainable and that the human and natural systems are adapted to climate change?

– If Indicators to measure progress towards mitigation seem straightforward: Reduced quantity of the greenhouse gas emission

– Indicators to measure progress towards adaptation are still to be properly defined, because of overlap between adaptation and development


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II. Adaptation refers to both process and condition

• Adaptation is defined as adjustments (process) in ecological, social, or economic systems (condition) in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts.

• Yet, current adaptation M&E has put more emphasis on condition than process, leading to development outcomes mistaken for adaptation outcomes

• We argue that if development outcomes are not generated through “new” capacity, that is adaptive capacity;

Then it is hard to use the development outcomes to measure progress toward adaptation.

• Therefore, the should be traceability between adaptive capacity and adaptation outcomes


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III. Why behavioral changes are important in adaptation process M&E?

• Behavioral theory help understanding how adaptation conditions are constructed within a community.

– Building on adaptive capacity, the underlying variable of adaptation to climate change, behavioral theory showed potentials to elucidate determinants that influence community propensity or ability to adapt.

• Development outcomes are not always climate-friendly– Determinants of adaptive capacity relate to the economic, social, institutional,

and technological conditions that facilitate or constrain the development and deployment of adaptive measures leading to adaptation outcomes.

• “Adaptive” behavioral changes as intermediary indicators of adaptation

– Linking “adaptive” behavioral changes to development outcomes will ensure proper design of robust adaptation metrics.


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III. Methods – Locations


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III’. Methods – conceptualising behavioral changes


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III’’. Methods – The participatory M&E plansCriteria for collecting outcome harvesting

Burkina Faso Ghana Niger

Intentional domains of behavioural changes

D1 : Partnership D2 : Knowledge D3 : PracticesD4 : Organization

D1 : PartnershipD2 : KnowledgeD3 : Practices D4: Food security

D1: Partnership D2: Knowledge D3: Food security

Periodicity of data collection

Every six months Every six months Every six months

Behavioural changes collection methods

Focus group and Individual discussion



Types of behavioural change to collect

Individual and collective behaviours

Individuals and collectives behaviours

Individual and collective behaviours

Selection technique for the most significant change

Iterative voting Iterative voting Iterative voting

Number of changes stories collected (experimental)

2 collective changes (men/women group)

34 individual changes (men and women farmers)

2 collective changes (men/women group)


2 collective changes (men and women)



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IV. Results – Changes in knowledge and practices ((% of respondents)

Domains of changes/attributes Burkina Ghana NigerMen Women Men Women Men Women

D1. Changes in knowledge A1. Knowledge about agricultural techniques with respect to climate change

84,21 60,00 100 100 100 100

A2. Knowledge on how to implement on-farm assisted natural regeneration techniques

57,89 46,67 - - 100 100

A3. Knowledge of trees planting and utilization

36,84 62,50 33,33 33,33 10 16,67

D2. Changes in agricultural practicesA1. Agricultural practices (use of improved seeds, row planting, compost application, fertilizers use, etc.)

57,89 73,33 100 100 100 83,33

A2. Practicing on-farm assisted natural regeneration of trees

5,26 13,33 33,33 33,33 100 83,33

A3. Planting tree 26,32 40,00 - - - -


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IV. Results- changes in organization, partnership, access to productive assets and food security (% of respondents)

Domains of changes/attributes Burkina Ghana NigerMen Women Men Women Men Women

D3. Organizational changesA.1. Relationship among farmers 36,84 6,67 16,67 16,67 - -D4. Changes in partneringA1. In-community collaboration (exchange of information, services and goods)

57,89 66,67 66,67 66,67 60 33,33

D5. Access to productive resources (on-farm trees, etc.)

A1. Access to on-farm and medicinal trees 31,58 80,00 - - - 16,67

D6. change in food securityA1. Diversity of diets and early harvest from early maturing crops

- 13,33 50 - - 83,33


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V. Lessons learned toward developing adaptation metrics

• Existence of various patterns of new behavior: Stakeholders learned the various arrays of changes in farmers’ behavior, particularly the adaptation-relevant behavior.

• New pattern of behaviors need maintenance: The results also suggest that initiating new patterns of behaviors may bring new challenges to farmers, individuals or enterprises.

• Adaptation-related metrics from behavioral changes stories: From the stories of change, it is possible to identify what metrics are most suitable to measure progress in adaptation.

– In fact, adaptation metrics should not be defined in isolation from changes in farmers’ behavior,

– Knowing domains where behavioral changes are taking place because of adaptation activity helps evaluators to trace the adaptation contribution out of the development outcome.


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V. Concluding remarks

• Adaption processes are subject to a number of biophysical, social and psychological influences: Future adaptation M&E approaches, tools and framework needs to examine these at the community and/or ecosystem levels.

• Focusing on one influence over the others will not help communities, donors and development agencies to effectively and efficiently adapt to climate change effects.

• Instead, balancing approaches from social and biophysical sciences has potentials to strengthen both the human and environmental dimensions needed for adaptation process.

• Behavioral science can contribute to conceptualize models that include economic, technical, and regulatory considerations as predictors of the effectiveness of adaptation policies or interventions


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Acknowledgements

Funding sources Technical Partners: National agricultural research Systems

Outreach

Adaptation processes in agriculture and food security: Insights from evaluating behavioral changes in West Africa

Science