Preparing for, coping with and bouncing back after shocks. A nuanced resilience assessment for smallholder farms and farmers in Northern Ghana
| Title: | Preparing for, coping with and bouncing back after shocks. A nuanced resilience assessment for smallholder farms and farmers in Northern Ghana |
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| Authors: | Mirja Michalscheck, Fred Kizito, Bekele H. Kotu, Franklin K. Avornyo, Carl Timler, Jeroen C. J. Groot |
| Source: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, Vol 21, Iss 1 (2023) |
| Publisher Information: | Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. |
| Publication Year: | 2023 |
| Collection: | LCC:Agriculture |
| Subject Terms: | sustainable intensification, vulnerability, whole-farm model, health shock, Agriculture |
| More Details: | Smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana regularly face shocks, challenging the sustainability of their farms and livelihoods. Different farm households and household members may be differently affected and respond with different coping strategies. We combined whole-farm modelling and farmer consultations to investigate the vulnerability, buffer and adaptive capacity of three farm types in Northern Ghana towards severe climate, economic and social shocks. We further assessed intra-household differences in respective risk mitigation and coping strategies. Our model results indicate that the drought shock would most severely affect all farm types, drastically reducing their operating profits and soil organic matter balance. The medium resource endowed farm was most affected by shocks, but all farm types could enhance their capacity to recover by adopting technology packages for sustainable intensification. Gendered coping strategies included livestock sales, post-harvest storage, activating social networks, rice processing and the collection, processing and sales of wild nuts and fruits. Farmers reported to aim at becoming more resilient by increasing their herd size and expanding their farmland, thereby risking to increase rather than reduce the pressure on natural resources. New questions arise concerning the carrying capacity of local ecosystems and resilience at community and landscape level. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 1473-5903 1747-762X 14735903 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/1473-5903; https://doaj.org/toc/1747-762X |
| DOI: | 10.1080/14735903.2023.2241283 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/3dba065a43e94bd48eb478d6d7dc2a12 |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.3dba065a43e94bd48eb478d6d7dc2a12 |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 14735903 1747762X |
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| DOI: | 10.1080/14735903.2023.2241283 |
| Published in: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| Language: | English |