Can Small Farmers Protect Themselves Against Bad Weather?
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Washington, DC
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Severe weather conditions can undo even
the best efforts of families to break free of poverty.
Households that rely on subsistence or small-scale farming
are especially at the mercy of severe weather. Droughts and
floods wipe out crops, leaving families hungry or without
anything to sell to pay for essentials such as school fees
or medicines. Climate changes have made weather even more
variable in many countries, exacerbating problems such as
droughts, extreme temperatures and flooding. Policymakers
seeking to offset the unexpected have increasingly used cash
transfer programs to help families through difficult times.
But what makes a difference in the long-term? Are small
grants or training programs effective methods to help farm
households develop non-agricultural businesses, thereby
enabling them to better manage weather shocks? To understand
what might allow families to better manage risks, the World
Bank supported an evaluation of a pilot program in Nicaragua
to encourage rural households to diversify beyond
small-scale farming. The project found that two years after
the program ended, households that received vocational
training or investment grants to start non-agricultural
businesses were better protected against the negative
effects of severe drought than families that only received
conditional cash transfers. These results suggest that
helping farmers develop other income-generating different
businesses can be an effective and sustainable approach to
reducing poverty by protecting them against the financial
repercussions of severe weather and climate changes. This
Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World
Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and
the British governments Department for International Development.
Palabras clave
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AGRICULTURAL SELF-EMPLOYMENT, CAREGIVERS, CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM, CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMS, CASH TRANSFERS, CLIMATE CHANGE, DIVERSIFICATION, DROUGHT, FARM HOUSEHOLDS, FARMERS, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, INCOME, INCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIES, INSURANCE, IRRIGATION, LEARNING, NUTRITION, POOR, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL COMMUNITIES, RURAL FAMILIES, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL POVERTY, RURAL POVERTY RATES, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN, SMALL FARMERS, SMALL-SCALE FARMING, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SUBSISTENCE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, TARGETING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING PROGRAMS, VOCATIONAL TRAINING