Collaborative Research -- Vulnerability and Resilience Among Small Farmers in Jamaica: An Assessment of Climate Change, Economic Stress, and the Role of Water Management Strategies Grant uri icon

abstract

  • The purpose of this research is twofold: the first objective is to determine the vulnerability of Jamaican small farmers to the dynamics of climate change and regional economic transformation; and the second is to assess how local environmental conditions and water use strategies influence the resilience of different farmers in the face of these vulnerabilities. Both objectives will be pursued by way of a mixed methods research design that combines the collection and analysis of climatic data with an ethnographic investigation of farmer knowledge, perception, and adaptation to changing regional conditions. The study is based on previous research in Jamaica, which suggests that farmers are experiencing stress from both climate change and market instability, a condition that has been described as a ?double exposure.? The present study aims to document the nature of these stresses, and also to investigate the role played by different water management strategies in building resilience. The proposed study will take place in three communities in St. Elizabeth Parish, a region that has traditionally been the largest producer of food for domestic consumption in Jamaica. To determine the vulnerability of small farmers in St. Elizabeth, we will develop a regional climatology of the area and document the experiences and perceptions of farmers using in-depth interviews. The result will be a clear picture of the regional double exposure faced by Jamaica?s rural producers. To assess the local geography of resilience, we will document the role played by four different systems of water delivery-- hand watering, black tank drip irrigation, greenhouse, and sprinkler-water pipe--in enabling farmers to respond in the face of double exposure. We do so through a methodology that combines meteorological instrumentation with in-depth interviews, resulting in a better understanding of the ways in which farmers perceive and respond to specific forms of vulnerability or stress. In terms of intellectual merit, our work contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship on vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation in a number of key respects. First, it offers an extension of the double exposure framework, examining the combined impacts of climate change and economic restructuring at a regional scale and in a Caribbean context. Second, the research provides a unique opportunity to assess the factors contributing to resilience among rural producers, through an in-depth, field-based case study focused on the experiences and perceptions of small farmers. It does so, thirdly, using a novel, mixed-methods approach that combines the insights of climate modeling, detailed empirical measurement, and sophisticated ethnographic analysis. The results should add significantly to theories of vulnerability and resilience, and also contribute to our understanding of climate change adaptation in rural agricultural communities. These scholarly contributions will also result in broader impacts in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. Results from our research will be shared with the Jamaica research community and with policy-makers, who have stressed to us the importance of developing a better understanding of regional climate conditions. Insights from our case study can help to inform assessments of vulnerability and resilience for other small island developing states in the Caribbean, a region that is expected to experience future disruptions from both climate change and global economic restructuring over the coming years. Finally, the installation of instruments in St Elizabeth serves as the basis for a meteorological mesonet, with the intent of long-term monitoring and capacity building, and the outlined research will enhance learning opportunities for students at East Carolina University, UNC Wilmington, and the University of West Indies (UWI) and increase resea

date/time interval

  • January 2012 - August 2016

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