MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
HANDOUT
The multi-dimensional nature of poverty and uncertainty
Three out of four poor people in developing countries live in rural areas (UNDP, 2007). Of these,
most live in fragile environments such as arid or mountainous areas often at long distances
from markets and other services. They have few resources at their disposal and have
inadequate access to skills and technologies that could help them to make best use of those
resources. Therefore their income earning options are limited and their ability to diversify or
adapt when circumstances change is constrained. Poor people also often live in risk-prone areas
such as on steep slopes, river embankments or floodplains because they cannot afford to live in
safer areas. The impacts of drought and floods are often exacerbated by unsustainable
development such as deforestation or a combination of increasing population pressure,
political tensions and economic changes that lead to practices that cause environmental
degradation.
Conflict is fuelled by easy access to weapons and the increasing competition over scarce
resources such as pasture and water. In the event of hazards, the poor and their livelihoods
tend to be the hardest hit. The livelihoods of marginal and small farmers, artisans and
fishermen are affected through the loss of assets, loss of food sources (crops or stores) and loss
of employment or income earning opportunities. When disaster strikes they may be forced to
take desperate measures to survive such as abandoning their homes or selling vital land or tools
on which their livelihoods depend because they have no savings or other alternatives. This
undermines their future recovery and each shock can drive them deeper into poverty. The poor
are often politically marginalized and have little voice in the policy or institutional decisions that
affect them. Services, such as schooling, health, extension, transport and markets are often
inadequate or unavailable to people living in more remote or challenging areas. They lack the
safety nets that are taken for granted in richer countries, such as savings, insurance policies or
government services to warn and protect them from disasters.
Growing uncertainty is a further characteristic of the lives of the poorest. As the world becomes
more interconnected, the livelihoods of the poor can be affected by events happening in
distant parts of the world. Financial markets can affect prices for staple crops in developing
countries. Policy shifts, for example towards biofuels, can contribute to rising grain prices and
urban food shortages. The impact of climate change is being felt directly by increasing numbers
of people as changing seasons and more extreme weather patterns affect the natural
environment that people depend on and contribute to crop failures and livestock losses, thus
tipping the balance between survival and destitution. Poverty, vulnerability and disasters are
closely related and cannot be viewed in isolation from one another. These multiple factors: lack
of resources; fragile livelihoods; exposure to hazards; climate change and other trends; and
weak institutional support mechanisms must be understood in a more integrated manner in
order to seek effective ways to address them.
Source: From Vulnerability to Resilience. Pasteur. 2011
A Training Manual on Use of Climate Information and Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment for
Agricultural Extension Staff in Zimbabwe
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