Adaptation in agriculture: lessons for resilience from eastern regions of New Zealand |
| |
Authors: | Gavin Kenny |
| |
Institution: | 1.Earthwise Consulting Limited,Hastings,New Zealand |
| |
Abstract: | Assessments of adaptation in agriculture have evolved considerably from early, top-down, impact assessments. These early assessments,
internationally and in New Zealand, provided a limited view of ‘smart farmer’ adaptation. While impact assessment provides
some useful insights, experience with vulnerability and adaptation assessment provides a more appropriate foundation for understanding
and characterising practical smart farmer adaptation. Findings are presented from 8 years of engagement with farmers in eastern
regions of New Zealand. A comprehensive farm resilience picture has emerged from this work. This picture reflects a strong
belief from real-world smart farmers that there is sufficient knowledge and experience to adapt to climate change. Proactive
farmers are already reading multiple signals, including changes in climate, and are responding. The farm resilience picture
provides a foundation for exploring alternative adaptation options and pathways for agriculture. These are presented and discussed
in response to two proposed climate change scenarios, a high carbon world scenario and a rapidly decarbonising world scenario.
Knowledge intensive, low input systems are consistent with the resilience picture drawn from farmers. Such systems are also
consistent with a rapidly decarbonising world scenario and, it is argued, are likely to become increasingly attractive under
a high carbon world scenario. A smart farming approach, focused on resilience, provides the basis for development of a response
capacity, with potentially significant co-benefits in terms of adaptation and mitigation to climate change. Wider issues and
needs to support the further development of farm resilience, and more widely landscape or regional resilience, are identified
and discussed. It is apparent from this work that ongoing engagement with smart farmers, focused on resilience, can contribute
significantly to development of a coordinated ‘bottom up’ and ‘top down’ response capacity. Addressing the psychology of change
is a fundamental need to ensure wider engagement. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|