Farmer-led participatory extension leads Haitian farmers to anticipate climate-related risks and adjust livelihood strategies. This approach, known as Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA), integrates location-specific climate information with participatory decision-making tools for farmer decision-making. PICSA incorporates aspects of experiential and anticipatory action learning, highlighting the importance of prior knowledge, iterative questioning, experimentation, and reflection.
The PICSA process involves four to six participatory, active learning sessions with established groups of farmers, regardless of their level of literacy. Each step includes learning activities developed through an iterative research process and based on theoretical and learning approaches. The initial step starts well ahead of the agricultural season, concentrating and building on farmers’ prior knowledge and experience through the use of Resource Allocation Maps and Seasonal Calendars.
Farmers in Haiti, where agriculture is predominantly non-mechanized and rainfed, are severely affected by reduced yields and increases in operating costs due to climate variability and change. The PICSA approach aims to build farmers’ self-efficacy by enabling them to focus and reflect on their individual context while collectively analyzing and interpreting relevant information on climate and livelihood options. This study evaluates the effectiveness of PICSA with farmers who live in mountainous areas outside of Port-au-Prince ahead of the 2019 spring growing season.
Seventy percent of survey respondents reported that training in PICSA led them to make positive changes in their farming and livelihood enterprises. While most of the changes pertained to the management of existing farming enterprises, farmers also made changes in scale and started new enterprises. The analysis of qualitative case studies provides an in-depth understanding of perceived benefits on farmers’ income, food security, confidence, and their attitudes towards farming and climate risk. The study has important implications for future adaptation interventions where extension services and climate information are limited.
The PICSA approach is consistent with the concept of andragogy, which emphasizes the learner and the learner’s interpretations through self-directed explorations. Anticipation engages learners to think about their future livelihood options within the context of seasonal forecasts, historical climate information, and their socio-economic conditions. The engagement of individuals in networks, peer groups, and associations can enable farmers to learn from each other and act both individually and collectively. However, gender and other socio-cultural norms and practices can determine power relations and influence people’s confidence, decision-making power, and access to resources.