Technical assistance providers identify climate change adaptation practices and barriers to adoption among California agricultural producers

Authors: JOHNSON, DEVON - University Of California, Davis; PARKER, LAUREN - University Of California, Davis; PATHAK, TAPAN - University Of California Agriculture And Natural Resources (UCANR); CROTHERS, LAURA - Non ARS Employee; Ostoja, Steven

Submitted to: Sustainability
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2023
Publication Date: 3/30/2023
Citation: Johnson, D., Parker, L., Pathak, T., Crothers, L., Ostoja, S.M. 2023. Technical assistance providers identify climate change adaptation practices and barriers to adoption among California agricultural producers. Sustainability. 15(7). Article 5973. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075973.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075973

Interpretive Summary: Technical assistance providers (TAP) are trained professionals from university Cooperative Extension (CE), USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Resource Conservation Districts (RCD), along with certified crop advisors, pest control advisors, and agriculture-focused nonprofits who collectively play a central role in assisting producers adapt to climate change. TAPs serve as resources for information and guidance on land and water management and agronomic practices and CE is an especially trusted source for climate change information. The farmer-TAP relationship provides an opportunity for the dissemination of climate change information and adaptation-centered guidance. However, some surveys of TAPs suggest they lack the ability or confidence to effectively serve as a climate adaptation resource for their clientele. These prior studies indicate that targeted resources are needed to support TAPs in developing climate change programming and advancing climate change adaptation in California agriculture. As a first step towards developing such resources, focus groups were held with a group of TAPs to better understand their perceptions of climate change impacts to California agriculture, their recommended practices for climate adaptation, and the barriers they face in supporting adaptation among California’s agricultural producers. The focus groups revealed that TAPs have a good understanding of the impacts of climate change on agriculture. TAPs also noted that they recommend science-backed adaptation practices but that producers may not be accepting of or may be hesitant to adopt some practices. Finally, the TAP focus groups said that the key barriers to getting farmers to adopt adaptation practices include insufficient monetary support, a lack of information on the practices, and insufficient messaging around climate-adaptive practices. Using the insights gleaned from this work, researchers and boundary organizations can continue to develop and disseminate resources to support the resiliency of California agriculture to today’s climate stressors and tomorrow’s climate change.

Technical Abstract: Climate change will challenge California agriculture, requiring producers (i.e., farmers and ranchers) to adopt climate adaptive management practices to sustain production. Agricultural technical assistance providers (TAPs) play a significant role in supporting producers’ efforts to adopt climate-smart management practices. It is therefore important to understand current TAP perceptions of climate change, TAP recommendations for climate adaptation, and the barriers to adopting climate-smart practices. To understand these issues, we held four focus group discussions with small groups of TAPs from across the state and evaluated transcripts from the discussions to identify common themes and concepts. The TAPs that participated in the focus groups understood climate change and its impacts on California agriculture, with climate extremes and water-related issues being the most frequently cited climate-related challenges. Focus group discussions and subsequent evaluation revealed that while TAPs recommend science-backed practices for adapting California agriculture to climate change, producers may not be accepting of some recommendations. Critically, the TAP focus groups cited insufficient monetary support – both for themselves and for producers – and insufficient information and messaging around climate-adaptive practices as key barriers to practice adoption. This improved understanding of the intersection of TAPs’ work on climate change and climate adaptation in California agriculture is useful for the development of information and resources that can bridge these identified barriers.