The Role of Social Networks in Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan

Muhammad Abid,Grace Ngaruiya,Farhad Zulfiqar,Jürgen Scheffran

doi:10.3390/cli5040085

Abstract

Incorporating adaptation into subsistence farming systems is an important strategy to reduce damages related to climate change and to protect livelihoods in developing countries. Using a dataset of 450 farm households collected from three agro-ecological zones, this study examines rural networks, assesses farm-level institutional support and documents any existing structural gaps on climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector of Pakistan. For this purpose, a social network analysis method is used. The study findings reveal that farmers reported a decrease in crop production and increase in pests and diseases due to climate change. Further, changing crop varieties, sowing dates, input mixes and planting trees are the key measures adopted by farmers. Lack of information, finances and resources are the key adaptation constraints. The study findings show that only 28% and 13% of the respondents do not have access to financial services and climate adaptation knowledge, respectively. Support to farmers mainly consists of marketing information and farm equipment from community-based organizations, while private institutions offer weather forecasting services. Public institutions are poorly represented in the network analysis. We also found that extension services are key institutions in the climate adaptation network, while agricultural credits, post-harvest services and marketing of produce were dominant but weakly connected in the financial support network. We also found that with an increase in the provision of services at the farm level, farmers not only adapt more but also move from low-cost and short-term measures to advanced measures. This study proposes an integrated framework to improve the stakeholders’ networking through different kind of partnerships and better adaptation to climate change.

Highlights

Projected changes in climate and the increasing frequency of extreme events over the 21st century pose serious threats to agricultural development in developing countries [1]
The study findings show that the average farm size was around six hectares and the average income around 1326 thousand Pakistan rupees
For the majority of the farm households, agriculture was the main source of earnings, as it contributes about 71% of the total household income in the study regions, while the share of non-agricultural income was around 29%

Summary

Introduction

Projected changes in climate and the increasing frequency of extreme events over the 21st century pose serious threats to agricultural development in developing countries [1]. Over the last two decades, Pakistan has become highly vulnerable to climate change events like floods, droughts, extreme temperature and uncertain rainfalls [2,3,4]. The role of local government interactions is crucial to ensure sustainable adaptation among poor and smallholding farmers, who are more vulnerable in most cases [12,13]. These institutional arrangements and collaborations at the local level may be more effective than individual efforts to enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience in the agriculture sector to climate change [11,14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion