The University of Melbourne, School of Geography, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Science, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
The University of Sydney, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, NSW, 2006, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Nov;370:122536. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122536. Epub 2024 Sep 19.
In an era of growing environmental, socioeconomic, and market uncertainties, understanding the adaptive strategies of smallholder farmers is paramount for sustainable agricultural productivity and environmental management efforts. We adopted a mixed-methods approach to investigate the adaptive strategies of smallholders in Northwest Cambodia. Our methodology included downscaled climate projections to project future climate conditions and scenarios, household surveys to collect detailed demographic and socioeconomic data, crop monitoring and record-keeping to gather data on productivity and profitability, and semi-structured interviews to obtain qualitative insights on constraints and adaptation. Our analyses revealed that all smallholders are increasingly vulnerable to climate change which projections reveal will result in more intense and extreme weather events. Specifically, 92% of respondents reported reductions in household income, and 63% indicated the necessity to cut household expenses, which negatively affect agricultural productivity, as evidenced by 33% of respondents reporting declining crop yields and 10% experiencing food shortages. We also uncovered significant differences in farming strategies to mitigate vulnerability among distinct household clusters. Some households prioritise maximising yields through high-expense production strategies, while others focus on optimising inputs to enhance profit-margins, indirectly minimising their environmental impact. These varying strategies have different implications for poverty, food security, and the environment, but were doing very little to mitigate overall vulnerability. To enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholders, policies should target interventions that balance economic growth with environmental sustainability, tailored to the specific needs of different farmer and household types. Promoting the adoption of climate-resilient agricultural practices, investing in water management infrastructure, enhancing access to timely and accurate climate information, and implementing social protection measures are strongly recommended.
在环境、社会经济和市场不确定性日益增加的时代，了解小农的适应策略对于可持续农业生产力和环境管理努力至关重要。我们采用混合方法研究了柬埔寨西北部小农的适应策略。我们的方法包括缩小规模的气候预测，以预测未来的气候条件和情景；家庭调查，以收集详细的人口统计和社会经济数据；作物监测和记录，以收集生产力和盈利能力数据；以及半结构化访谈，以获取关于限制和适应的定性见解。我们的分析表明，所有小农都越来越容易受到气候变化的影响，预测显示，气候变化将导致更强烈和极端的天气事件。具体来说，92%的受访者报告家庭收入减少，63%的受访者表示有必要削减家庭开支，这对农业生产力产生负面影响，33%的受访者报告作物产量下降，10%的受访者经历粮食短缺，这证明了这一点。我们还发现，不同家庭群体之间存在显著的差异，以减轻脆弱性。一些家庭通过高成本生产策略优先考虑最大化产量，而另一些家庭则专注于优化投入以提高利润空间，从而间接最小化其环境影响。这些不同的策略对贫困、粮食安全和环境有不同的影响，但对整体脆弱性的缓解作用很小。为了增强小农的适应能力，政策应针对平衡经济增长与环境可持续性的干预措施，针对不同农民和家庭类型的具体需求进行调整。强烈建议推广采用具有气候抗御力的农业做法，投资于水资源管理基础设施，增强获取及时和准确气候信息的机会，并实施社会保护措施。
