Browsing by Author "Sutcliffe, Chloe"
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Item Open Access Conflict-induced displacement as a catalyst for agricultural innovation: Findings from South Sudan(Elsevier, 2019-10-19) Leonardo, Elias; Dorward, Peter T.; Garforth, Chris J.; Sutcliffe, Chloe; Van Hulst, FreddyThis article explores how conflict-induced displacement influences agricultural innovation processes and systems, and its implications after the return home or permanent resettlement of smallholder farmers. Results show that high rates of agricultural innovation occurred during displacement in the Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), many of which were maintained afterwards. Respondents cited the need for adaptation to new social and physical circumstances, changed gender roles, and enhanced inter-household communication as contributing to increased opportunities for knowledge exchange, trade, and importantly, the development of new networks, modes of organisation and social norms. Furthermore, returnees to South Sudan have embodied these changes together with new values, habits and expectations. New linkages continued across borders between returnees and non-returnees, facilitating knowledge exchange and access to resources, markets and sources of ideas. A high degree of autonomous innovation capacity was also evident. Further research is required on the dynamics and processes associated with innovation in conflict-induced displacement. It is important for policy makers to encourage approaches that seek to actively tap into and build on the institutional, human and social capital built during displacement.Item Open Access The contribution of a catchment-scale advice network to successful agricultural drought adaptation in Northern Thailand(The Royal Society, 2022-10-24) Goodwin, Daniel; Holman, Ian P.; Sutcliffe, Chloe; Salmoral, Gloria; Pardthaisong, Liwa; Visessri, Supattra; Ekkawatpanit, Chaiwat; Rey Vicario, DoloresThe intensification of drought affects agricultural production, leading to economic losses, environmental degradation and social impacts. To move toward more resilient system configurations requires understanding the processes that shape farmers' adaptation amidst complex institutional contexts. Social networks are an important part of collective action for supporting adaptive capacity and there are continuing calls to strengthen network connectivity for agricultural governance under the impacts of climate change. Through a survey of 176 farmers in northern Thailand, we explore the extent to which the characteristics of information shared in a catchment advice network are associated with adaptations. Statistical analyses reveal the perceived efficacy of communications as well as farmers’ relative closeness in the advice network to be positively associated with adaptation to drought. We identify a capacity for local actors to bridge information bottlenecks in the network and opportunities for institutions to enhance their dissemination of information to reach less networked farmers. We find that not all adaptations are perceived as effective against future drought and infer opportunities to support engagement with extension services, encourage the sharing of local knowledge and experience and devise policy and interventions to strengthen advice networks for more resilient agricultural systems.Item Open Access The exposure of a fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain to global water-related risks(Taylor and Francis, 2018-10-15) Hess, Tim; Sutcliffe, ChloeWe have combined estimates of the UK’s supply of fresh fruit and vegetables (1996 – 2015) with estimates of water requirements and water scarcity in producing countries, to identify where the supply is exposed to physical, regulatory and reputational water risks and how this has changed over time. Some 76% of the freshwater consumed in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables to the UK is withdrawn overseas. The supply chain is particularly exposed to water risks in Spain, Egypt, South Africa, Chile, Morocco, Israel and Peru. Exposure has increased over time.Item Open Access Fruit and vegetable growers irrigation survey(Cranfield University, 2021-06-09 10:19) Sutcliffe, ChloeThis dataset provides the results of an online qualtrics survey investigating irrigation practice and perspectives on resilience to water risks amongst UK fruit and vegetable growers. The survey was live between January and April 2018.Item Open Access ‘I think this is where this lovely word “sustainability” comes in’: Fruit and vegetable growers' narratives concerning the regulation of environmental water use for food production(Wiley, 2023-05-02) Sutcliffe, Chloe; Knox, Jerry W.; Hess, TimThis article concerns UK commercial fruit and vegetable growers’ narratives regarding the sustainability of water use for food production. In it we explore their perspectives on efforts by regulators to limit agricultural withdrawals of water from the natural environment in line with EU Water Framework Directive objectives, alongside their views on retailer sustainability commitments. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how the growers contested restrictive regulation, constructed their identities, portrayed other supply chain stakeholders, and conveyed their social relations with them. Using Erving Goffman's theory of frontstage and backstage performances, the implications for the growers’ water management decisions and their internalisation of sustainability agendas for water are examined. Whilst the growers gave accounts of purposely misrepresenting their water withdrawal practices and their discourse illustrated significant polarisation between environmental and agricultural interests, their underlying commitment to environmental sustainability was ambivalent, with both anti and pro-environmental attitudes expressed. The growers also frequently gave critiques of superficial sustainability in fresh produce supply chains. We argue that, given contemporary shifting definitions of agricultural identities, settings in which their construction is negotiated can provide windows of opportunity for conventional growers to engage in genuine pro-environmental performances that may deepen their assimilation of environmental goals and commitment to sustainable water use.Item Open Access Market-friendly agriculture development: Implications for seeds and smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa(SAGE, 2017-07-31) Sutcliffe, ChloeAcross Sub-Saharan Africa, efforts to produce and supply the agricultural technologies that are expected to intensify smallholder agricultural production are strongly market-oriented. Here, the case of maize seeds in Malawi provides new insights into some of the implications of this orientation. Malawi presents a context where market liberalization coupled with a national input subsidy programme has led to the growth of corporate power within the formal maize seed system and a strong reliance upon commercial providers to breed, multiply and diffuse new cultivars. At both the local and national levels, facets of this market-orientation mean that poverty reduction and climate change adaptation goals may not be met. In order to address these potential shortcomings, multiple measures are required. Institutions are needed to oversee the coordination of appropriate breeding and marketing efforts by corporate actors within the formal seed system; research programmes are required which can enhance understandings of genetic evolution within farmer-saved varieties and its implications for climate resilience; and policies must be carefully implemented which can support market participation by the poorest.Item Open Access Resilience of primary food production to a changing climate: on-farm responses to water-related risks(MDPI, 2020-07-30) Hess, Tim; Knox, Jerry W.; Holman, Ian P.; Sutcliffe, ChloeWater is a fundamental component in primary food production, whether it be rainfall, irrigation used to water crops, or for supplying drinking water for animals, while the amount of water in the soil determines it capacity to support machinery and animals. We identify that UK agriculture is exposed to five main water-related risks: agricultural drought, scarcity of water resources, restrictions on the right to abstract water, excess soil water, and inundation. Projected milder, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers by the end of the century will change the frequency, persistence, or severity of each of these risks. This paper critically reviews and synthesizes the scientific literature on the impact of these risks on primary food production and the technological and managerial strategies employed to build resilience to these changing risks. At the farm scale, the emphasis has been on strategies to build robustness to reduce the impact of a water-related risk. However, collaborative partnerships allow for a more optimal allocation of water during times of scarcity. Enhancing cross-scale interactions, learning opportunities, and catchment-scale autonomy will be key to ensuring the agricultural system can build adaptive and transformational capacityItem Open Access Strengthening Thailand's Agricultural drought Resilience -Questionnaire and Dataset(Cranfield University, 2021-09-01 13:43) Goodwin, Daniel; Holman, Ian; Sutcliffe, Chloe; Rey Vicario, DoloresRecords of interviews with farmers in the Ping Catchment, Thailand as part of the STAR project. Interviews were undertaken in January 2020. A copy of the questionnaire is also provided.Item Open Access Supporting climate change adaptation using historical climate analysis(Elsevier, 2019-07-26) Dorward, Peter; Osbahr, Henny; Sutcliffe, Chloe; Mbeche, RobertClimate change and variability presents a challenge for rural communities in developing countries. Bridging organizations help align stakeholder and local perspectives and mediate communication that shapes adaptation responses. We argue that a first step for adaptation projects is to determine the nature of the climate norms and how climate is changing. This paper explores the degree to which development organizations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania used analysis of local historical climate information in project aims, planning and design. This included 67 participants, managing 102 community-level climate-related agricultural projects, and three NGO case studies. Most focused on low-regret options. The majority of projects enhanced awareness of climate change and variability, but only 7% had used historical climate information during planning. Instead, projects relied on general knowledge or farmers’ perceptions, which sometimes differ from analyzed historical climate information, potentially leading reinforcement of perceptions. It is vital that bridging organizations and policy makers value analyzed historical climate information when determining climate norms (including variability) and identify what data shows regarding how climate is changing. This is essential for planning with stakeholders the suitability of alternative crops and cultivars and ensuring other relevant environmental factors influencing agricultural production are considered.Item Open Access Synergies and trade-offs in drought resilience within a multi-level UK food supply chain(Springer, 2023-04-04) Rey Vicario, Dolores; Holman, Ian P.; Sutcliffe, Chloe; Hess, TimWeather extremes are the biggest challenge for supply chains worldwide, with food supply chains particularly exposed due to agriculture’s sensitivity to weather conditions. Whilst attention has been paid to farm-level impacts from, and adaptation to, weather extremes, there remains a need to better understand how different actors along the supply chain suffer, react and adapt to these natural hazards and how their resilience-building strategies affect other actors’ and the whole system’s resilience. Taking the UK potato supply chain as a case study, this paper analyses the synergies and trade-offs in drought resilience in a multi-level food supply chain. Data from an online survey (87) and interviews with key informants (27) representing potato supply-chain actors (growers, packers, processors, retailers) were used to analyse drought risk perceptions, impacts and coping strategies, long-term resilience measures and further actions to build system resilience. Results suggest that the potato supply chain has increased its resilience to weather extremes due to retailers and packers having a wider geographical spread of supply, an increasing reliance on forward contracts and favouring growers with water security. However, a conceptual framework of resilience-building strategies adopted by supply chain actors shows that these measures are largely designed to reduce their own risk without considering implications for other parts of the chain and the system as a whole. A more integrated approach to promote drought resilience in complex food supply chains that enables improved vertical collaboration and trust between actors is therefore needed.Item Open Access Which factors determine adaptation to drought amongst farmers in Northern Thailand? Investigating farmers’ appraisals of risk and adaptation and their exposure to drought information communications as determinants of their adaptive responses(Springer, 2024-01-11) Sutcliffe, Chloe; Holman, Ian P.; Goodwin, Daniel; Salmoral, Gloria; Pardthaisong, Liwa; Visessri, Supattra; Ekkawatpanit, Chaiwat; Rey, DoloresDrought communications constitute an important source of learning about climate risks and responses that can assist adaptation decision-making amongst those whose livelihoods are threatened by drought. This paper applies Protection Motivation Theory to explore associations between drought communications and attitudes towards drought risk and adaptation amongst farmers in Northern Thailand. The analysis reveals links between drought communications, farmers’ adaptation appraisal, and their adaptation decisions, whilst links with risk appraisal are minimal. The results highlight positive feedbacks between adaptation experience and appraisal and reveal a weak negative relationship between risk appraisal and adaptation appraisal. The findings imply benefits to framing drought communications in terms of the efficacy and attainability of suitable adaptations, rather than simply highlighting drought risks or providing drought warnings, to best enable farmers to build drought resilience.