Kevon Rhiney

Assessing the role of farmer field schools in promoting pro-adaptive behaviour towards climate change among Jamaican farmers

With the vulnerability of Jamaica’s agricultural sector to climate change being well established, there is a compelling need to incorporate useful adaptation strategies. One such pro-adaptation strategy is the farmer field school (FFS) which is currently being used to promote climate-smart agricultural practices among Jamaican farmers through a number of social learning and capacity building initiatives. A hallmark of the field school methodology is its promotion of adaptation by empowering farmers to plan for and cope with the effects of climate change by improving knowledge, awareness and adoption of best practices, while providing a viable income stream to participants. Though the FFS program has been touted as a huge success, with several community groups sustaining their income diversification and adaptation efforts even after the formal project has ended, the extent of participation in these field schools has however been uneven and limited in numbers. Amidst claims of the program’s achievements to date, and plans to replicate and upscale the field school methodology in Jamaica as a climate adaptation strategy, a comparative assessment of the role participation plays in shaping local farmers’ cognitive and behavioural responses towards climate change is very timely. The case study reported in this paper is informed by a comparative mixed methods approach, undertaken in three communities in northern Clarendon, Jamaica. The study assesses the particular ways that participation in the farmer field school program has influenced the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of FFS trainees about climate change compared to their non-FFS counterparts. Preliminary results indicate that FFS participants perceive themselves as having a higher adaptive capacity in comparison to non-field school participants, amidst both groups having access to similar stocks of assets. Ultimately, our results highlight that cognitive factors (e.g. perceptions of adaptive capacity) and involvement in social networks may be as important as the more commonly researched asset-based indicators in shaping individual adaptive behaviour.

The stresses and dynamics of smallholder coffee systems in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains: a case for the potential role of climate services

Access to climate information has the potential to build adaptive capacity, improve agricultural profitability, and help manage risks. To achieve these benefits, knowledge of the local context is needed to inform information development, delivery, and use. We examine coffee farming in the Jamaican Blue Mountains (BM) to understand farmer livelihoods, opportunities for climate knowledge to benefit coffee production, and the factors that impinge on farmers’ ability to use climate information. Our analysis draws on interviews and 12 focus groups involving 143 participants who largely cultivate small plots. BM farmers currently experience stresses related to climate, coffee leaf rust, and production costs that interrelate concurrently and with time lags. Under conditions that reduce income, BM farmers compensate by adjusting their use of inputs, which can increase their susceptibility to future climate and disease stresses. However, farmers can also decrease impacts of future stressors by more efficiently and effectively allocating their limited resources. In this sense, managing climate, like the other stresses, is an ongoing process. While we identify climate products that can help farmers manage climate risk, the local context presents barriers that argue for interactive climate services that go beyond conventional approaches of information production and delivery. We discuss how dialogs between farmers, extension personnel, and climate scientists can create a foundation from which use can emerge.

Climate adaptation in a minor crop species: is the cocoa breeding network prepared for climate change?

ABSTRACT Plant breeding has undoubtedly been successful in increasing the yield of high value commodity crops. In recent decades, efforts have been made to repeat this success in ‘orphan crops’ through a network of regional and national organizations largely composed of public and not-for-profit institutions. Adapting to climate change is a key challenge for these networks. Here we seek to analyze the particular challenges that characterize efforts to develop climate-smart varieties in minor crops, using the example of cocoa. Cocoa is a high-value commodity with a global research network; however, to date it has not received sustained attention from major global research centers. We estimate that globally <100 new cocoa varieties have been released since 2000, and our analysis suggests that this low number is constrained not by a limited availability of germplasm, but by limitations in the infrastructure focused on the final stages of breeding. We conclude that selecting minor crops for a future climate requires a long-term, regional approach that exploits modern technologies, integrates participatory selection, and is managed through a centrally funded network.

Future of Food and Agriculture in the Caribbean in the Context of Climate Change and Globalization: Where Do We Go from Here?

In this chapter, we seek to synthesize the key themes, findings, lessons, and implications raised in the preceding chapters. Our aim is to make some generalizations about the interface between globalization, climate change, and agriculture and food in the Caribbean. We will focus on the lessons learned from the research and suggest some critical steps the Caribbean region might consider in addressing the dual threat of globalization and climate change—double exposure. We will consider where the region stands in its response to globalization and climate change. For example, are there opportunities we are missing in the banana, coffee, and sugar industries? Globalization is often discussed in terms of the inequities and how it disadvantages developing countries vis-a-vis the developed countries. But it is now clear that globalization presents opportunities if countries position themselves to take advantage of these. Based on the insights provided by the respective authors, and a broader analysis of the extant literature, we discuss ideas to reduce the adverse impact of globalization and climate change on the agricultural sector in the region.

Placing the Music: Kingston, Reggae Music, and the Rise of a Popular Culture

In this chapter, we illustrate how place becomes embedded in the production of popular Jamaican music, and how music can serve as a fulcrum for reimagining and transforming urban landscapes. We examine the evolution of popular Jamaican music from its early rural-based origins during slavery to the urban music forms that emerged in the post-colonial era. We trace the birth and rise of reggae as a subset of popular Jamaican music linked to a specific period in time (post-independence/post-colonial), technological evolution (the rise of private music studios and sound systems) and population shifts from rural to urban areas and the subsequent growth of Kingston’s inner-city communities. The chapter also examines the urban roots of reggae music including the social and economic conditions leading to its birth and popularity. Here we provide a brief history of Kingston to better understand how and why reggae emerged in specific parts of the city.

Experiential Learning as a Tool for Farmer Engagement and Empowerment in a Changing Regional Climate

AgRicuLtuRAL extension, one of the key Avenues foR DisseMinAting agricultural information and training across developing countries, has over the past few decades undergone a massive transition. e traditional top-down training methods have been critiqued as inappropriate for the resource-poor farming context characteristic of many countries situated in the Global South, as farmers, the majority of which were poor, were unable to become effectively engaged in these technology-oriented processes.1 Scholars have argued that these methods presented an overly linear approach to innovation dissemination and have advocated for a shift in the existing extension strategy towards more participatory approaches.2 is has resulted in a change from the linear concept of innovation diffusion to a more intricate system, which involves communicating with farmers in a manner that encourages learning, participation and partnership. ere is now a growing emphasis on applying a “learning by doing” framework to help reinforce farm training and to build relationships with farmers and farmer organisations to facilitate the exchange of knowledge for sustainable agricultural development.3 With climate change being considered one of the greatest challenges to agricultural development, such interventions could play a crucial role in improving decision making that fosters pro-adaptive behaviour. Central to this learning approach is the building of joint capacity among the various actors in the innovation process where this joint learning is characterised by “face to face” exchange of ideas, and the opportunity for farmers and facilita-

Geographies of Globalization, Climate Change and Food and Agriculture in the Caribbean

In this chapter we present an introduction to the book. The chapter serves to contextualize the discussion that occurs in each section and chapter and to provide background analysis that synthesizes the importance of the various issues to the Caribbean. We begin by introducing the Caribbean as a region before discussing briefly the main themes of the book and introducing the chapters in each section by providing a summary of the contents of each.

From Plantations to Services: A Historical and Theoretical Assessment of the Transition from Agrarian to Service-Based Industries in the Caribbean

Despite many attempts by Caribbean governments to resuscitate the industry, agriculture has declined in economic importance over the years (Potter et al. 2004). The 1970s and 1980s saw the region-wide promotion of manufacturing industries epitomized by the preponderance of free trade zones and apparel export industries (Potter et al. 2004). In recent decades, service-based industries, particularly tourism, have dominated regional economies (Mullings 2004; Nurse 2007)—and as some would argue—at the expense of traditional industries such as agriculture (Pattullo 2005). The tourism industry has been criticized for its high import content and limited integration in local economies. This is ironic since, from the onset, the promotion of tourism development throughout the Caribbean was largely premised for its potential to stimulate other local industries (particularly agriculture) through its anticipated multiplier effects and market linkages.

“Trench Town Rock”: Reggae Music, Landscape Inscription, and the Making of Place in Kingston, Jamaica

This paper examines place inscriptions in Trench Town, Jamaica, and explores the ways these are used to reinforce, shape, or challenge dominant images of this inner-city community. On one hand, Trench Town is like many of its neighbouring communities, characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment, political and gang violence, derelict buildings, and overcrowded homes. On the other hand, Trench Town is iconic and unique as it is recognised worldwide for being the birth place of reggae music and home to a number of well-known reggae artists including reggae superstar Bob Marley. Today, Trench Town’s landscape is filled with inscriptions reminiscent of its rich cultural past. Linked to this is a conscious effort by its residents to identify themselves with reggae music and to recapture and sustain the positive legacies that have made the community popular. This is manifested in the numerous murals, statues, and graffiti seen throughout the community evoking past images of reggae music icons such as Marley and Tosh alongside renowned black leaders such as Marcus Garvey. These inscriptions are conceived as texts and are seen as part of a broader discourse on issues relating to urban spatial identity, commoditisation, exclusion, struggle, resistance, and change.