Abstract
Abstract: This article presents the findings of research conducted in a rural community located in Norte de Santander Department, Colombia, on farmers' representations of the impacts of climate change. The analysis of the behavior of temperature and average rainfall in the period 1985-2015 was put together concerning the local knowledge of the farmers. The approach was developed through 56 multiple choice questions surveys done to 144 producers intentionally selected from a group of 1,933 farmers, analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The findings indicate a broad opinion by farmers of the effects of climate change due to the gradual increase in temperature that causes changes in the bimodal system and intensity of rainfall; reduction in agricultural and livestock production, product quality and quantity; intensification of pest and disease attacks; reduction in water sources and water quality; extinction and migration of species of flora and fauna; and effects on the family’s comfort during work and rest hours, health and hygiene. Likewise, local strategies and the participation of public institutions in the mitigation and adaptation to climate change are evident.
Highlights
The purpose of this article is to present the main findings of an investigation carried out in a Colombian Andean region of farmers' social representations on the implications of climate change on agricultural production, environmental resources, the rural family, and the strategies implemented for its mitigation and adaptation
Exploring the implications of the environmental changes in their productive, environmental and social systems from the opinion of the social representations of the farmers is an epistemic strategy of reconstruction of meanings of this phenomenon in their everyday lives to generate theoretical constructs that allow their understanding and interpretation and, at the same time, enalbe researchers elements built “in situ” that are useful for the study of the impacts of climate change contextualized at the level of small-scale agriculture
In the search for the knowledge of the farmers to rebuild their social representations, we started from the questions: What do they know about the changes in temperature and precipitation? how do climate variations affect agricultural production, environmental resources, and their family environment? what strategies have they implemented to adapt or mitigate their effects? and what has been the participation of public institutions in the rural community studied?
Summary
The purpose of this article is to present the main findings of an investigation carried out in a Colombian Andean region of farmers' social representations on the implications of climate change on agricultural production, environmental resources, the rural family, and the strategies implemented for its mitigation and adaptation.In Latin America and the Caribbean, a large part of food production comes from family farming, which accounts for some 17 million productive units (75%-90%), 60 million people (Sabourin et al, 2014) and, it is the protector of the planet's rich reservoirs of biodiversity, such as water sources, soils and species of fauna and flora, due to the knowledge and experience of farmers in their conservation (De Boef et al, 2007). The purpose of this article is to present the main findings of an investigation carried out in a Colombian Andean region of farmers' social representations on the implications of climate change on agricultural production, environmental resources, the rural family, and the strategies implemented for its mitigation and adaptation. Exploring the implications of the environmental changes in their productive, environmental and social systems from the opinion of the social representations of the farmers is an epistemic strategy of reconstruction of meanings of this phenomenon in their everyday lives to generate theoretical constructs that allow their understanding and interpretation and, at the same time, enalbe researchers elements built “in situ” that are useful for the study of the impacts of climate change contextualized at the level of small-scale agriculture. The rich biodiversity of local phylogenetic resources (Caetano et al, 2015), the multifunctionality of its rural territories (Pérez, 2016), and its important role as water reservoirs and regulators (Daza Torres et al, 2014) are given a strategic purpose
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