Fact sheet of the project Perception of risks on farmer’s livelihoods and barriers for adaptation to climate change: Context, objectives, location, partners, methodology, initial results and next steps. The Cauca climate-smart village (CSV) is led by Fundación Ecohabitats, with support from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

1. Farmers’ decisions regarding adaptation to climate change are influenced by perception of different aspects of risk and
adaptation. In order to design and implement effectively adaptation strategies, it is important to understand the differences
in perceptions between farmers and external stakeholders (government officials, technicians, researchers, etc.). These
differences in perceptions could lead to policy and project failures if these are only developed based on the opinion of
external stakeholders.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand the different perceptions between actors in the agricultural sector and farmers, who
are the ones who know their territory, and at the end, are the ones that will implement these measures. This study seeks to
compare perceptions of climate risks between external stakeholders and smallholder farmers in the Cauca climate smart
village (CSV), in Colombia.
Perception of risks on farmer’s livelihoods and barriers for
adaptation to climate change
JLUrrea(CCAFS)

2. Objectives
• Compare perceptions of risks and barriers to adaptation
between external stakeholders and farmers.
• Analyze the views of external stakeholders and farmers
regarding the dynamics of capital livelihoods.
• Analyze stakeholder networks and identify the proximity
of different groups of actors.
• Build a diagram of causes and effects on the livelihood
system.
Location
Cauca CSV (Colombia).
Partners
CIAT, Fundación Ecohabitats.
Methodology
The study began in 2014, with interviews to external
stakeholders, and a presentation of the fieldwork plan to
the leaders of the Community Action Boards of Popayán.
Fieldwork was done in CSV communities: Gualimbio,
Julumito Alto, La Calera, La Meseta, and San Antonio.
A total of 58 farmers and 13 external stakeholders were
interviewed.
Initial results
• Preliminary analysis confirms assumptions about the
differences between perceptions: When respondents
were asked about what are the greatest risks to
agricultural production, external stakeholders pointed
to climate as a very high risk, but, for farmers, it is a
lower risk. On the other hand, one of the highest risks
for farmers is production loss, whereas, for external
stakeholders, this is the lowest risk.
• Open-ended questions based on the DFID’s
Sustainable Livelihoods Framework were built and
a causal loop diagram (CLD) of the issues related
to production was developed. The farmers related
the different capitals (human, natural, financial, and
physical) with their elements (training, labor supply,
availability of water, etc.) and interactions between
capitals. One of the main findings was that the CLD did
not relate natural capital to other capitals and did not
include climate risks.
• Stakeholder networks were built and were classified
according to the level of importance and closeness
perceived by each group. External actors and farmers
agree that local networks and social groups are very
close to farmers (i.e., family, neighbors, etc.). External
stakeholders also think that actors in the value chain
such as intermediaries or extensionists are close, but
the farmers do not see them as close. The difference
in perception is even greater for the group of political
stakeholders and institutions: external stakeholders see
them at a medium distance, whereas farmers see them
as far away.
Next steps
To better understand how farmers make the decision to
adopt a climate-smart practice, there will be workshops on
economic games with farmers, grouped by the patterns
of results of the first interview and by the types of activities
that these farmers perform.
More information
Anton Eitzinger, CIAT researcher
a.eitzinger@cgiar.org
www.ccafs.cgiar.org
About CCAFS
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT),
brings together some of the world’s best researchers in agricultural science, development research, climate science and Earth System science, to identify and
address the most important interactions, synergies and tradeoffs between climate change, agriculture and food security. www.ccafs.cgiar.org.
CCAFS Latin America
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Km. 17 Recta Cali-Palmira.
Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Led by