A Community Capitals Assessment of Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background and Literature Review
2.1. Food Security and Climate Change Vulnerability in Belize
2.2. The Milpa Farming System and Climate-Smart Agriculture in Belize
2.3. Government Agricultural Extension in Belize
2.4. Research Framework: Community Capitals in the Milpa Socio-Ecological System
3. Methods
3.1. Research Design and Study Setting
3.2. Sampling and Data Collection
3.3. Data Analysis and Synthesis
4. Results
4.1. Human-Capacity Capital
4.2. Infrastructure Capital
4.3. Governance-Justice Capital
4.4. Financial Capital
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
7. Recommendations
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Community Capital | Description | Perceived Barriers to (Factors against) Increasing CSA Practices (−) | Perceived Conduits (Factors for) Increasing CSA Practice (+) | Overall CSA Influence |
---|---|---|---|---|
Human Capacity Capital | Knowledge, skills, abilities, expertise, creativity, technology, innovation; health, well-being, security, capacity-building, capability to adopt innovations | More visits/information and training, and monetary resources are needed from extension on pesticide management and CSA (non-burn) innovations of mulching, soil enrichment and cover plants (−)CSA no-burn practice increases occurrence of snakes (−) | Some CSA information and solutions: mulching, cover plants, pesticide dosages—transferred from extension to community, few and far between (+). Adaptive technology and innovations from one extension officer: Effective microorganisms (EF), integrated pest management (IPM), nitrogen-fixing cover plants such as mucuna and arachis (+) | Barrier. More CSA information, training, and capacity-building (−) needed including: Soil enrichment; fertilizer/pesticide application; resource management; economic development; CSA technologies (mulch-only, EM, IPM, and nitrogen-fixing cover plants (−). More information and strategies needed for snake management (−) |
Social Capital | Relationships, connections, participation, communications, stewardship | More CSA information and innovations are needed from extension so farmers can respond to uncertain climate/seasonal variability (i.e., temps and rainfall (−) | Extension works directly with farmers to transfer CSA information and demonstrate innovations & solutions (+).Farmers share innovations and solutions within community (+), stewardship for natural resources [soil, streams, forests] (+) | Conduit. Established relationships and trust for innovation transfer, social support for CSA practices (+). Solutions shared and diffused to community members (+) |
Natural Capital | Environment, ecosystem services, geography, air, soil, water, forests, rivers, geomorphology, insect pests | CSA practices don’t address forest clearing (−); cleared forest (“black”) soil is nutrient-rich to rotate crops (−) but use less fertilizer (+); alternative is nutrient depleted soil (−).Exclusive burn-only practices lose soil nutrients (−). Nutrient-depleted soil needs fertilizer inputs (usually chemical) (−). More pests/crop disease need more inputs (−) | Mulching =>more decomposition/nutrient enrichment (+), shorter fallow times (+) =>more crop production (+). Soil enrichment (non-chem.) and cover plants => protect soil from nutrient loss (+) and erosion (+); regulates soil moisture (+) and temperature for fertility/germination (+); better water management (+). Non-burning => better air quality, wildlife, forests, rivers/creeks (+) | Conduit. (No-burn CSA milpa practices). Better soil protection (sun exposure, moisture loss, erosion); nutrient enrichment; better air quality, and overall, less chemical inputs (+) CSA aspects of milpa farming facilitate more reliable, sustainable, increased crop production (+). More government information and action needed for pest management, chemical inputs, fire, and forest clearing impacts (−) |
Infrastructure Capital | Infrastructure, telecommunications, housing, roads, electricity, water, utilities | Lack of reliable infrastructure; limited Belize cellular service (−) poorly maintained roads (−), and unreliable water and electricity (−). Bad roads limit farmer access to farms, communities, and markets (−) => limits income, more insecurity (−) | Markets and cellular service from Guatemala are good (+), but border/immigration policies create a challenge (−) | Barrier. Lack of reliable infrastructure and access to markets (−); limited cellular service (−), unreliable water and electricity (−); bad roads (−); limits to farmer access to farms, communities, and markets => impacts livelihood security |
Governance- Justice Capital | Leadership, government, power and influence, civic engagement, accountability; rights, access, marginalization under-representation, exclusion, social justice, and border/immigration | Historical marginalization and distrust of Government (−); discontinued local markets (−) and crop buying programs (−). Border restrictions reduce access to markets in Guatemala (−); Lack of information shared on safe pesticide use (−); Lack of reliable infrastructure (−). Extension barriers: a) operational constraints with a lack of budget, staff, training; (b) efficacy in milpa communities: high poverty | Extension works within milpa traditions (+) to show CSA adaptations and technologies (+); shares other farmer successes in mulching, effective microorganisms, nitrogen-fixing cover plants (used by Amish/Mennonites), and integrated pest management (+) | Barrier. Farmers need more extension information, resources, and financial support for CSA practices (−). Extension barriers: Lack of budget, staff, resources, and training in CSA (−) and lack of pesticides information [type, amount, safe application] (−). Lack of government addressing rural poverty, unreliable infrastructure, lack of markets, lack of quality land to farm (−). Lack of government action to ensure stated priority of sustainable agriculture and community resilience to climate change impacts (−) |
Financial Capital | Monetary resources, workforce, business, industry, enterprise, markets, economic development, investments, poverty, Scarcity | More insect pests = less production/income (−) and higher pesticides expenses for famers (−). Farmer poverty (−), lack of government assistance and land (−) => higher vulnerability (−). Government barriers to markets: Discontinued markets, no government purchase of crops, lack of local markets; low markets/prices (−) Low operational budget for extension (−), lack of vehicles, fuel, staff (−), lack of CSA training (−) | Fertilizer technology can stabilize and increase crop production (+), security for subsistence (+), and livelihoods (income from local markets) (+). Non-chemical enrichment/cover plants = low/no cost (+) | Barrier. CSA practices promote sustainable crop production and income (+). Lack of (or discontinued) markets (−); no government crop-buying program (−), market access barriers (−). More pest => increased farmer expenses for fertilizer and pesticides (−), unless non-chem technology and financial support transferred. Extension efficacy barriers due to lack of operational budget (−) |
Cultural Capital | History, heritage, values, customs, traditions, identity, sense of community | Adaptation (and capacity to adapt) for new CSA technologies and practices is slow-moving, [except with youth] (−) => a higher # of older traditional farmers (−). More elderly/fewer youth milpa farmers (−) | Extension works within Maya cultural traditions of milpa farmers to find sustainable solutions (+) Modifying traditional milpa practice for CSA-only (mulching, ground cover, soil enrichment, erosion control) can improve capacity and longevity (sustainability) for milpa farming traditions (+) vs. burn-only milpa degrades soil | Conduit. Extension can work within Maya cultural traditions to promote CSA aspects of traditional milpa practice (no burn, mulching, ground cover, soil enrichment) especially among youth farmers; this can improve sustainability of crop production and cultural traditions of milpa farming system (+). CSA modifications to traditional milpa practices can promote sustainable production (+) => more food and livelihood security (+) => better community resilience (+) |
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Drexler, K. A Community Capitals Assessment of Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize. Climate 2022, 10, 176. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10110176
Drexler K. A Community Capitals Assessment of Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize. Climate. 2022; 10(11):176. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10110176
Chicago/Turabian StyleDrexler, Kristin. 2022. "A Community Capitals Assessment of Climate Adaptations to Traditional Milpa Farming Practices in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize" Climate 10, no. 11: 176. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli10110176