Aggarwal, P. K., A. Jarvis, B. M. Campbell, R. B. Zougmoré, A. Khatri-Chhetri, S. J. Vermeulen, A. Loboguerrero, L. S. Sebastian, J. Kinyangi, O. Bonilla-Findji, M. Radeny, J. Recha, D. Martinez-Baron, J. Ramirez-Villegas, S. Huyer, P. Thornton, E. Wollenberg, J. Hansen, P. Alvarez-Toro, A. Aguilar-Ariza, D. Arango-Londoño, V. Patiño-Bravo, O. Rivera, M. Ouedraogo and B. Tan Yen. 2018. The climate-smart village approach: framework of an integrative strategy for scaling up adaptation options in agriculture. Ecology and Society 23(1):14. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09844-230114

Central American countries, particularly Guatemala, are experiencing extreme climate events which are disproportionately affecting agriculture and subsequently rural livelihoods. Governments are taking action to address climatic threats, but they need tools to assess the impact of policies and interventions aiming to decrease the impacts of climate change on agriculture. This research, conducted with national policy makers and climate change and agriculture stakeholders in Guatemala, provides a comparative analysis of eight climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices and technologies associated with the smallholder maize-beans production system in the Dry Corridor. The practices were identified as high-interest for investment by national stakeholders. CSA practices and technologies aim to improve food security, resilience, and low emissions development, where possible and appropriate. The paper assesses the cost-benefit profile of the introduction of CSA options into farm production systems. Indicators related to profitability and valuation of environmental and social externalities are used to assess options. Probabilistic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is used to address field variability and high uncertainty around parameter values. All practices except one were profitable over their lifecycle, with some practices, expected to be ideal for drought prone areas, presenting a higher risk for adoption. The results were discussed with national stakeholders who established best-bet CSA investment portfolios. This paper argues that a thorough understanding of the costs and benefits of potential CSA options is needed to channel investments effectively and efficiently towards both short- and long-term interventions and should be coupled with broader assessment of tradeoffs between CSA outcomes. (Résumé d'auteur

Much of the literature examining the role of gender in processes of climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector has focused primarily on differences between male and female farmers, implicitly treating men and women as homogenous groups. Where heterogeneity exists within these groups which impacts climate change adaptation efforts and outcomes, an understanding of such intersectionalities is vital to the design of effective and equitable policy. The objective of this study is to investigate whether interaction effects among socio-economic factors are meaningful drivers of observed differences among female farmers in their adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices, as well as their use of climate information and financial services. This study employs data from farmer surveys in three Climate-Smart Villages in Latin America, analyzed using ordinal logistic regression and canonical correspondence analysis. The results indicate that important interaction effects are present: the relationship between higher educational attainment and increased adoption of CSA practices, for example, is conditional on the degree of livelihood diversification. The relationship between greater educational attainment and increased use of climate forecasts is likewise conditional on age. These results suggest the need for researchers and policymakers to anticipate potential intersectionalities when designing research efforts and development interventions.

Introduction: Climate change poses a significant threat to rural livelihoods in low- and middle-income countries. Enhancing the sustainability of these livelihoods is crucial for ensuring food security and nutrition at both global and regional levels. This study investigates the role of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices in improving rural livelihoods in Latin America, specifically through the Climate Smart Village (CSV) approach.Methods: Our analysis involved a dataset of 267 households, comprising both adopters and non-adopters of CSA practices in CSVs across Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia. We employed multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), Gower’s metric, agglomerative clustering, partitioning around medoids (PAM), and cluster validation. Our aim was to understand how CSA practices, which include the use of agroclimatic information, soil and water management practices, and risk diversification strategies, contribute to enhancing livelihoods. We examined this in the context of the five capitals (social, natural, physical, financial, and human) of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF).Results: Our findings indicate that CSA farmers exhibit lower capital-based vulnerability compared to non-CSA farmers. This is particularly evident in the areas of social capital, as well as human and natural capital for certain CSA adopters. However, the similar performance in financial and physical capital between CSA and non-CSA farmers suggests the need for additional strategies to reduce vulnerability in these areas. We examined this through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), which includes five capitals: social, natural, physical, financial and human.Conclusion: These findings offer a valuable framework for policy and decision-making processes, helping to identify which capitals and dimensions of livelihood vulnerability should be prioritized in different contexts to achieve climate resilience and sustainable development. The study advocates for continued research efforts, incorporating expanded indicators, such as gender indicators within social and human capital definitions, for a more comprehensive assessment of CSA’s impact. The application of SLF for analyzing CSA’s contribution to rural livelihoods represents a novel approach in Latin American studies.