Adaptation processes in agriculture and food security: Insights from evaluating behavioral changes in West Africa

1. PROGRAMME AFRIQUE CENTRALE ET OCCIDENTALE (PACO)PROGRAMME AFRIQUE CENTRALE ET OCCIDENTALE (PACO)
Adaptation processes in agriculture
and food security: Insights from
evaluating behavioral changes in West
Africa
Somda Jacques*, Zougmoré Robert, Sawadogo Issa, Bationo B. André, Sanou Josias, Barry
Silamana, Buah Saaka, Abass Amadou Tougiani.
* Presenter. Email: jacques.somda@iucn.org

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I. Searching for adaptation metrics
• To achieve the sustainable development goals,
adaptation to climate change and lower emission
intensities per development output will be
necessary.
• But how can we ascertain that the development
outputs are effectively sustainable and that the
human and natural systems are adapted to climate
change?
– If Indicators to measure progress towards mitigation seem
straightforward: Reduced quantity of the greenhouse gas emission
– Indicators to measure progress towards adaptation are still to be
properly defined, because of overlap between adaptation and
development

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II. Adaptation refers to both process and
condition
• Adaptation is defined as adjustments (process) in ecological,
social, or economic systems (condition) in response to actual
or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts.
• Yet, current adaptation M&E has put more emphasis on
condition than process, leading to development outcomes
mistaken for adaptation outcomes
• We argue that if development outcomes are not generated
through “new” capacity, that is adaptive capacity;
 Then it is hard to use the development outcomes to measure
progress toward adaptation.
• Therefore, the should be traceability between adaptive
capacity and adaptation outcomes

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III. Why behavioral changes are important in
adaptation process M&E?
• Behavioral theory help understanding how adaptation
conditions are constructed within a community.
– Building on adaptive capacity, the underlying variable of adaptation to climate
change, behavioral theory showed potentials to elucidate determinants that
influence community propensity or ability to adapt.
• Development outcomes are not always climate-friendly
– Determinants of adaptive capacity relate to the economic, social, institutional,
and technological conditions that facilitate or constrain the development and
deployment of adaptive measures leading to adaptation outcomes.
• “Adaptive” behavioral changes as intermediary indicators of
adaptation
– Linking “adaptive” behavioral changes to development outcomes will ensure
proper design of robust adaptation metrics.

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III. Methods – Locations

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III’. Methods – conceptualising behavioral
changes

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III’’. Methods – The participatory M&E plans
Criteria for collecting
outcome harvesting
Burkina Faso Ghana Niger
Intentional domains of
behavioural changes
D1 : Partnership
D2 : Knowledge
D3 : Practices
D4 : Organization
D1 : Partnership
D2 : Knowledge
D3 : Practices
D4: Food security
D1: Partnership
D2: Knowledge
D3: Food security
Periodicity of data
collection
Every six months Every six months Every six months
Behavioural changes
collection methods
Focus group and
Individual discussion
Focus group and
Individual discussion
Focus group and
Individual discussion
Types of behavioural
change to collect
Individual and
collective behaviours
Individuals and
collectives behaviours
Individual and
collective behaviours
Selection technique for the
most significant change
Iterative voting Iterative voting Iterative voting
Number of changes stories
collected (experimental)
2 collective changes
(men/women group)
34 individual changes
(men and women
farmers)
2 collective changes
(men/women group)
12 individual changes
(men and women
farmers)
2 collective changes
(men and women)
16 individual changes
(men and women
farmers)

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IV. Results – Changes in knowledge and practices ((% of
respondents)
Domains of changes/attributes Burkina Ghana Niger
Men Women Men Women Men Women
D1. Changes in knowledge
A1. Knowledge about agricultural
techniques with respect to climate
change
84,21 60,00 100 100 100 100
A2. Knowledge on how to implement on-
farm assisted natural regeneration
techniques
57,89 46,67 - - 100 100
A3. Knowledge of trees planting and
utilization
36,84 62,50 33,33 33,33 10 16,67
D2. Changes in agricultural practices
A1. Agricultural practices (use of
improved seeds, row planting, compost
application, fertilizers use, etc.)
57,89 73,33 100 100 100 83,33
A2. Practicing on-farm assisted natural
regeneration of trees
5,26 13,33 33,33 33,33 100 83,33
A3. Planting tree 26,32 40,00 - - - -

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IV. Results- changes in organization, partnership,
access to productive assets and food security (% of
respondents)
Domains of changes/attributes Burkina Ghana Niger
Men Women Men Women Men Women
D3. Organizational changes
A.1. Relationship among farmers 36,84 6,67 16,67 16,67 - -
D4. Changes in partnering
A1. In-community collaboration (exchange
of information, services and goods)
57,89 66,67 66,67 66,67 60 33,33
D5. Access to productive resources (on-
farm trees, etc.)
A1. Access to on-farm and medicinal trees 31,58 80,00 - - - 16,67
D6. change in food security
A1. Diversity of diets and early harvest
from early maturing crops
- 13,33 50 - - 83,33

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V. Lessons learned toward developing adaptation
metrics
• Existence of various patterns of new behavior: Stakeholders
learned the various arrays of changes in farmers’ behavior,
particularly the adaptation-relevant behavior.
• New pattern of behaviors need maintenance: The results also
suggest that initiating new patterns of behaviors may bring new
challenges to farmers, individuals or enterprises.
• Adaptation-related metrics from behavioral changes stories:
From the stories of change, it is possible to identify what metrics
are most suitable to measure progress in adaptation.
– In fact, adaptation metrics should not be defined in isolation from
changes in farmers’ behavior,
– Knowing domains where behavioral changes are taking place
because of adaptation activity helps evaluators to trace the adaptation
contribution out of the development outcome.

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V. Concluding remarks
• Adaption processes are subject to a number of biophysical,
social and psychological influences: Future adaptation M&E
approaches, tools and framework needs to examine these at the
community and/or ecosystem levels.
• Focusing on one influence over the others will not help
communities, donors and development agencies to effectively
and efficiently adapt to climate change effects.
• Instead, balancing approaches from social and biophysical
sciences has potentials to strengthen both the human and
environmental dimensions needed for adaptation process.
• Behavioral science can contribute to conceptualize models that
include economic, technical, and regulatory considerations as
predictors of the effectiveness of adaptation policies or
interventions

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Acknowledgements
Funding sources Technical Partners: National
agricultural research Systems
Outreach