Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices for Climate Resilience: Evidence from Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions of Co-Benefits and Adoption Decisions in Mabalane District, Mozambique

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate and explore the ecosystem-based adaptation practices for climate resilience with evidence from smallholder farmers’ perceptions of co-benefits and adoption decisions in Mabalane district, Mozambique. Ecosystem-based adaptation practice emerged as a sustainable approach to enhance rainfed smallholder farmers’ climate resilience while delivering multiple social, economic and environmental co-benefits. This study evaluated and explored the perceived co-benefits from adopting ecosystem-based adaptation practices and examined how they shape adoption decisions among the rainfed smallholder farmers. A mixed-method approach was employed, combining a household survey of 360 farm household heads, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The main findings of the study revealed mixed cropping (83.9%), integrated crop-livestock (57.2%), and mulch tillage (51.1%) as the most adopted practices, as well as smallholder farmers perceiving multiple ecological and socio-economical co-benefits from adopting ecosystem-based adaptation practices. Although the study confirmed statistically significant relationships between ecosystem-based adaptation practices and the perceived co-benefits, none of the perceived co-benefits were significantly associated with an increase in the number of the adopted practices. Therefore, it is concluded that adoption decisions among smallholder farmers are not shaped by perceived ancillary benefits from ecosystem-based adaptation practices alone, but a combination of enabling conditions and resources endowments.