Farmer Strategies for Dealing with Climatic Variability: A Case Study from the Mixteca Alta Region of Oaxaca, Mexico

background

Climate change is likely to disproportionally effect tropical regions. Yet effective adaptation requires an understanding of climate variability at specific locations and most data is regional. This is particularly true for small-scale farmers, who are highly vulnerable. This paper calls for a bridging of scientific and traditional knowledge in order to construct this location-specific understanding. This article discusses participatory research in the mixteca alta region of oaxaca, mexico that facilitated a process whereby farmers evaluated the ability of their agroecosystems to withstand the vagaries of climate.

goals & method

This article discusses a three-year participatory research project in the Mixtexca Alta region of Oaxaca, Mexico during which small-scale farmers discussed how they prepared and adapted to previous climate challenges. The researchers collaborated with the  Center for Integral Rural Development of the Mixteca Alta (CEDICAM), the local farmer-led cohort, to hold 8 day long workshops with farmers in the CEDICAM network. One author also spent 20 months conducting ethnographic field work, living and working with the farmers, while also conducting interview and agronomic field experiments.

conclusions & takeaways

The study demonstrated the depth of farmers' knowledge concerning interpretations of climate variability and strategies to deal with it; much of their analysis mirrors general policy recommendations for climate change mitigation and adaptation.  Overall, the research validated local ways of knowing and and managing land.