Fourteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Access to information sources is regarded as a critical component in transitions towards resilience. Many efforts globally are placed in providing information for farmers, however, studies have indicated a gap between availability of information sources and access to such sources, particularly effecting the most vulnerable groups of farmers. Smallholder farmers often may not possess the resources to access relevant information in the face of the unprecedented impacts of the climate crisis, thus significantly reducing their adaptive capacity. Key to understanding how farmers can adopt resilient practices is analyzing access, availability and relevance of local information sources. The research question is: to what extent does the availability of various information sources impact farmers’ adaptive capacity? To answer this question, an empirical study was conducted to elaborate on household and farm characteristics as well as access to information sources and impacts of climate change. A total of 720 households were surveyed across three departments of Honduras, Lempira, Choluteca and Francisco Morazan. Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that there is a lack of structured support and availability of information sources despite the many challenges that farmers face and there are few changes being made on farms to increase resilience. Most changes made are encouraged by friends and family indicating that farmers are willing to make changes on their farm but may face barriers to adoption such as lack of resources.