Social Networks Analysis of the Ivorian Agricultural Sector Regarding Adaptation to Climate Change

Emilia Schmitt, Hermann Comoé and Dominique Barjolle ()
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Emilia Schmitt: Agricultural Economics Group (AGECON), Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Switzerland
Hermann Comoé: Agricultural Economics Group (AGECON), Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Switzerland

Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture), 2013, vol. 6, issue 1, 81-108

Abstract: In the context of climate change in developing countries, smallholder farmers need strategies and institutional support in order to adapt. The goal of this paper is to identify and analyze stakeholder networks in the agricultural sector of Côte d’Ivoire to evaluate the institutional support surrounding farmers. A research study was undertaken to derive an empirical diagnosis of strengths and weaknesses in the social networks in two regions, Toumodi and Korhogo, in order to facilitate the future implementation of adaptation strategies. We identified central actors and evaluated networks with criteria such as cohesion and centrality. The network structure appeared to be highly dependent on one major actor in the Toumodi region, while the regional network relied more on a group of diverse actors in the Korhogo region. Therefore, in Toumodi, we suggest encouraging actors to form cooperatives to reduce centralization and increase network cohesion and integration, which is the favorable network configuration for policy implementation. As such, sharing experiences and knowledge could enhance the ability of smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change.

Keywords: Social Networks; Adaptation; Climate Change; Agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cha:ysa001:v:6:y:2013:i:1:p:81-108

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