Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Volume 63, Issue 6, Pages 804-821Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00267-019-01158-7
Keywords
Farmers' perceptions and adaptation intentions; Socio-cognitive process; Agricultural climate change adaptation; Adaptation avoidance; Socio-environmental context factors; Qualitative analysis
Categories
Funding
- ERA4CS JPI Climate project Climate Services for the Water-Energy-Land-Food Nexus (CLISWELN) - Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research [863470]
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
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The lack of timely adaptation in agriculture may hamper prosperous farm developments by neglecting risks and opportunities emerging from climate change. Understanding farmers' perceptual and socio-cognitive processes is key in order to encourage on-farm adaptation. We aim at investigating how farmers' individual cognition on climate change and adaptation as well as socio-environmental context factors affect agricultural adaptation intention and avoidance. We build on the Model of Private Proactive Adaptation to Climate Change (MPPACC) and apply a qualitative interview approach in two Austrian farming regions. Twenty semi-structured interviews have been conducted with 29 farmers. Based on the results of the qualitative content analysis, we have identified four groups of farmers, which differ in the formation process of adaptation intention and avoidance: (i) climate change adaptors, (ii) integrative adaptors, (iii) cost-benefit calculators, and (iv) climate change fatalists. Farmers who are part of groups (i)-(iii) form adaptation intentions, whereas climate change fatalists do not intend to adapt. According to our analysis, adaptation intentions are only formed if farmers are aware of effective adaptation measures, accept personal responsibility for their farms, and evaluate adaptation costs positively (i.e. adaptation appraisal). Farmers' climate change appraisal as well as farm and regional characteristics are also perceived relevant for farmers' adaptation decisions but seem to be less important than adaptation appraisal. Therefore, we conclude that engagement strategies and outreach efforts need not only address risks and opportunities, but should also strengthen farmers' self-responsibility and offer adaptation measures tailored to the regional characteristics and the farmers' needs.
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