Assessing adaptive capacity to climate change is a complex task since it is a multidimensional component. There has been considerable discrepancy between the dimensions or elements that compose it. This study aimed to analyze the relevant dimensions and indicators that allow estimation of the adaptive capacity to climate change and to propose a set of indicators that will enable their application to assessment at the level of agricultural producers. A systematic review of scientific literature on evaluating or measuring adaptive capacity to climate change was carried out. Subsequently, the indicators were analyzed and selected through a coincidence analysis and were calibrated through a multicriteria evaluation with relevant actors in the southern Mexico, state of Chiapas. In total, 329 indicators were identified and analyzed. As a result, 19 indicators were selected and then grouped into six dimensions: economic resources, human resources, infrastructure for production and marketing, institutionality, social capital, and natural resources. These represent the 14 specific dimensions with the greatest potential to contribute to the estimation of adaptive capacity to climate change. The dimensions and indicators can be applied to assess the adaptive capacity of farmers in Mexico at a national or regional scale and specifically by producer types.

Mexico has a wide range of biophysical and socioeconomic conditions that result in farmers with highly diverse traits and activities in relation to their livelihoods. The aim of this research was to identify specific traits of Mexican farmers that would allow them to be classified through a multidimensional approach that includes the risk of production in the face of exposure and vulnerability to climate change. The method included three dimensions: producer sensitivity, production destination, and exposure to climate change. Principal component analysis combined with the Dalenius and Hodges optimal stratification technique was used to stratify the universe of agricultural producers. The results show that up to 227 groups of agricultural producers can be identified in Mexico, and it was possible to classify them into 19 types, ranging from agricultural producers at greatest risk due to the adverse effects of climate change to agricultural producers with fewer difficulties to produce in conditions of climate change. This proposed multidimensional typology of agricultural producers can become an essential input for designing, reorienting, or focusing public policies in the agricultural sector and moving towards fulfilling the commitments declared in the INDC-2030.

Chiapas es un estado de México altamente vulnerable al cambio climático, principalmente por su ubicación en la zona intertropical y por sus condiciones socioeconómicas. El objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar las barreras y potencialidades de los productores agrícolas de la región Meseta Comiteca Tojolabal, que inciden en la estimación de su capacidad de adaptación al cambio climático. Para ello, se aplicaron 108 cuestionarios a productores predominantemente agrícolas, pecuarios o silvicultores, así como 10 entrevistas a funcionarios públicos y extensionistas agropecuarios de cada municipio de la región. Mediante análisis cualitativo, se categorizó a cada productor con base en la tipología de productores agrícolas en contexto de cambio climático y se evaluaron 16 indicadores. El 85 % de los productores encuestados son productores familiares, de los cuales el 56 % de ellos se encuentran en los tipos 1 al 6, considerados como productores familiares de subsistencia con un mayor riesgo, debido a su nivel de sensibilidad y exposición al cambio climático. Entre las potencialidades de los productores encuestados destacan los recursos naturales, la seguridad y propiedad de la tierra, y la diversificación de fuentes de ingresos; como barreras se identifican la deficiencia de recursos humanos, capital social, capacidad institucional y recursos económicos.