Study shows how farmer organisations drive climate action in Himalayan region

Locally led and agencydriven efforts through farmer producer organisations have led to a systemic change in climate policy through improved farmer incomes increased crop yield and farming system resilience in Indias Himalayan region a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management IIM Lucknow has foundThe findings of the study have been published in the prestigious Journal of Rural StudiesWe employed a mixedmethods research approach to understand and appreciate localised climate hazardsinduced vulnerability of exposure unit in the Himalayan region and tried to capture farmer organisations governance capabilities to evaluate prioritise and execute planned or reflexive and facilitative adaptation actions through climatesmart technologies and practices employing participatory mapping tool netmap semistructured interviews focus group discussions and coding of recorded respondent interviews Kushankur Dey Associate Professor IIM Lucknow told PTIThe study shifts the focus of climate policy discussions away from mainly reactive and fragmented approaches which are common in many developing regions toward a more proactive approach to adaptationIt addresses a relatively underexplored area in climate action adaptation research the governance capability of agencyled adaptation especially in contexts where local power dynamics may resist or complicate adaptation efforts and outcomesTo examine whether agencyled governance can generate localised but impactful outcomes the research team studied climatevulnerable settings where settlements remain exposed to climate hazardsinduced vulnerability despite farmlevel adaptation attemptsThey also considered how these localised impacts could contribute to longterm systemic changes in climate action policyUsing the Small Wins Governance framework developed by Termeer and Metze 2019 the researchers developed a contingency framework to explain how adaptive capacity can be built gradually through incremental gains known as small winsWith a mixedmethods approach the study applied this framework to the climatevulnerable setting of the Himalayan regionThe findings showed that FPOs Farmer Producer Organisations acting collectively on behalf of their members carried out climate interventions that increased farmers incomes strengthened local farming systems and their resilience improved crop productivity enhanced collaboration shared learning and reflexive monitoring in action to solve evaluation paradox of climate action policy processes Dey saidThe research team concluded that these small wins created enabling mechanisms where localised successes encouraged wider collective action and horizontal spreading of adaptation actionsThe study explains climate hazardacirciquestiquestinduced vulnerability and links it to the role and capability of agency governance offering practical recommendations for climate policymakers development practitioners and institutionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever