Factors Influencing Farmers’ Readiness for Climate Change Adaptation: Southwest Washington, USA & Skåne, Sweden
(2021) VBRM15 20211Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- Climate change impacts global agricultural systems through changes in average temperature, precipitation quantity and timing, and extreme weather events. Climate change adaptation (CCA) for agricultural systems will be based on changes to farms’ day-to-day operations and long-range planning, governmental policies and regulations, and broad changes in supply chains. The purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding of factors influencing farmers’ readiness to engage in climate change adaptation. The geographic regions of Southwest Washington, USA and Skåne, Sweden are used as contrasting case studies. Factors are identified through a quantitative survey of farmers and qualitative interviews with key informants. The survey measured... (More)
- Climate change impacts global agricultural systems through changes in average temperature, precipitation quantity and timing, and extreme weather events. Climate change adaptation (CCA) for agricultural systems will be based on changes to farms’ day-to-day operations and long-range planning, governmental policies and regulations, and broad changes in supply chains. The purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding of factors influencing farmers’ readiness to engage in climate change adaptation. The geographic regions of Southwest Washington, USA and Skåne, Sweden are used as contrasting case studies. Factors are identified through a quantitative survey of farmers and qualitative interviews with key informants. The survey measured farmers’ attitudes toward climate change, CCA, potential barriers, and attributes of the social network they consult when making farm-related decisions.
Most quantitative factors differed between the regions. However, both showed positive correlations between how likely a famer is to engage in CCA and how strongly they perceive the barriers to CCA as well as how frequently they incorporate climate change in other decisions. Farmers’ readiness to engage in CCA is influenced by factors which arise from their context (i.e., their social network and the organizations which they interact with) and personal characteristics (i.e., age, level of belief in climate change, perception of barriers, and type of farm). The results presented here can be used by organizations supporting farmers to inform outreach efforts concerning CCA, particularly in SWWA and Skåne, but also in similar areas. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Climate change disrupts agricultural systems around the world. This disruption requires changes throughout society but especially in farms’ day-to-day operations and long-term planning. How farmers react to climate change is shaped by a range of personal factors and support from various organizations.
The choice to change your behavior to avoid losses or exploit potential benefits due to actual or expected changes in the climate must be made by each individual farmer or land manager. On farms these changes may take the form of water conservation, flood protection measures, changing what crops they grow and how they grow them, reducing heat stress on livestock, or even seeking alternative sources of revenue. Better understanding of what... (More) - Climate change disrupts agricultural systems around the world. This disruption requires changes throughout society but especially in farms’ day-to-day operations and long-term planning. How farmers react to climate change is shaped by a range of personal factors and support from various organizations.
The choice to change your behavior to avoid losses or exploit potential benefits due to actual or expected changes in the climate must be made by each individual farmer or land manager. On farms these changes may take the form of water conservation, flood protection measures, changing what crops they grow and how they grow them, reducing heat stress on livestock, or even seeking alternative sources of revenue. Better understanding of what influences farmers’ decisions about whether and how to react to climate change can shape more effective outreach and support efforts. Thus, this study aimed to understand these influences in two regions with similar climates and agricultural systems but differing cultures, governance structures, and historical developments: southwest Washington, USA and Skåne, Sweden.
In general, older and more experienced farmers are less likely to take climate change related actions. Unsurprisingly, farmers who frequently incorporate climate change in making other decisions are more likely to adapt to climate change on their farm. Farmers’ decision making is also shaped by who they consult in the decision-making process and whether these people already know each other. However, the exact impacts differ between the two regions.
Farmers who are more likely to adapt to climate change are also more likely to see significant barriers to these actions. This is contrary to the common logic that seeing a barrier discourages actions. Rather, it may be the case that when a farmer is more interested in a particular action, they are more aware of the barriers and therefore see them as more significant.
Organizations (such as academic institutions, government agencies, and farm consultants) provide information, financial support, and networking opportunities to farmers which supports farmers to adapt to climate change. However, there is a need to spark interest in such adaptive practices and show farmers how these practices can be financially advantageous and how their land can benefit. In Southwest Washington, this process is complicated since conversations about climate change are seen as inherently political and often off-putting.
Results are based on a survey of farmers and interviews with experts who work to support farmers in both regions and may be useful for natural resource conservationists, agricultural extension workers, researchers, and others who support farmers in adapting to climate change. While the results of this thesis are specific to southwest Washington and Skåne, in some cases they represent general trends, particularly in areas with similar agricultural systems and climates, and may inspiration similar work. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9068961
- author
- Spangler, Zachary LU
- supervisor
-
- Per Becker LU
- organization
- course
- VBRM15 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- agriculture, agricultural extension, crop advisory services, climate change adaptation, farmers, egocentric social networks, Skåne, Washington, correlation, survey, USA, Sweden
- language
- English
- id
- 9068961
- date added to LUP
- 2021-12-15 14:31:59
- date last changed
- 2021-12-15 14:31:59
@misc{9068961,
abstract = {{Climate change impacts global agricultural systems through changes in average temperature, precipitation quantity and timing, and extreme weather events. Climate change adaptation (CCA) for agricultural systems will be based on changes to farms’ day-to-day operations and long-range planning, governmental policies and regulations, and broad changes in supply chains. The purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding of factors influencing farmers’ readiness to engage in climate change adaptation. The geographic regions of Southwest Washington, USA and Skåne, Sweden are used as contrasting case studies. Factors are identified through a quantitative survey of farmers and qualitative interviews with key informants. The survey measured farmers’ attitudes toward climate change, CCA, potential barriers, and attributes of the social network they consult when making farm-related decisions.
Most quantitative factors differed between the regions. However, both showed positive correlations between how likely a famer is to engage in CCA and how strongly they perceive the barriers to CCA as well as how frequently they incorporate climate change in other decisions. Farmers’ readiness to engage in CCA is influenced by factors which arise from their context (i.e., their social network and the organizations which they interact with) and personal characteristics (i.e., age, level of belief in climate change, perception of barriers, and type of farm). The results presented here can be used by organizations supporting farmers to inform outreach efforts concerning CCA, particularly in SWWA and Skåne, but also in similar areas.}},
author = {{Spangler, Zachary}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Factors Influencing Farmers’ Readiness for Climate Change Adaptation: Southwest Washington, USA & Skåne, Sweden}},
year = {{2021}},
}