Smallholder farmer resilience to extreme weather events in a global food value chain

William J. Thompson (), Varun Varma, Jonas Joerin, Solhanlle Bonilla-Duarte, Daniel P. Bebber, Wilma Blaser-Hart, Birgit Kopainsky, Leonhard Späth, Bianca Curcio, Johan Six and Pius Krütli
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William J. Thompson: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Varun Varma: University of Exeter
Jonas Joerin: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Solhanlle Bonilla-Duarte: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC)
Daniel P. Bebber: University of Exeter
Wilma Blaser-Hart: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Birgit Kopainsky: University of Bergen
Leonhard Späth: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Bianca Curcio: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Johan Six: Sustainable Agroecosystems Group, Department of Environmental Systems Science
Pius Krütli: Transdisciplinarity Lab, Department of Environmental Systems Science

Climatic Change, 2023, vol. 176, issue 11, No 8, 22 pages

Abstract: Abstract Extreme weather events have severe impacts on food systems, especially for smallholders in global food value chains (GFVCs). There is an urgent need to understand (a) how climate shocks manifest in food systems, and (b) what strategies can enhance food system resilience. Integrating satellite, household and trade data, we investigate the cascading impacts after two consecutive hurricanes on smallholder banana farmers in Dominican Republic, and determinants of their recovery. We found that farmers experienced an ‘all-or-nothing’ pattern of damage, where 75% of flooded farmers lost > 90% of production. Recovery of regional production indicators took ca. 450 days. However, farm-level recovery times were highly variable, with both topographic and human capital factors determining recovery. Utilising this case study, we show that engaging in a GFVC impeded recovery via ‘double exposure’ of production loss and losing market access. Our results suggest that strategies to enhance resilience, with a particular focus on recovery, in GFVCs should promote trader loyalty, facilitate basin-scale collaboration and expand risk-targeted training.

Keywords: Food system; Climate resilience; Smallholder; Trade; Extreme weather (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-023-03586-1

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