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Vulnerability to Cumulative Hazards: Coping with the Coffee Leaf Rust Outbreak, Drought, and Food Insecurity in Nicaragua

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  • Bacon, Christopher M.
  • Sundstrom, William A.
  • Stewart, Iris T.
  • Beezer, David

Abstract

Recurrent food insecurity in the highlands of Central America has been exacerbated by the recent convergence of a coffee leaf rust outbreak that began defoliating crops in 2011 and a drought that started in 2014. In the context of these multiple challenges, this paper explores how seasonal hunger is related to smallholder organizational affiliation, farm and farmer characteristics, and post-hazard household-level coping strategies. The study integrates qualitative research, hydro-climatic data analysis, and a survey of 368 households completed in 2014. A number of household capacities correlate significantly with shorter periods of seasonal hunger: households with larger farms, with off-farm employment, and that produce more than half of their food, maintain more fruit trees, and harvest more coffee reported fewer lean months. We find evidence consistent with path dependence in how households cope with a sequence of environmental hazards, as the reported use of less preferred coping responses to past events (e.g., Hurricane Mitch and the 2009 drought) tended to correlate with their continued use after subsequent hazards. A comparison of coping responses of households affiliated with a farmer-to-farmer institution promoting subsistence-oriented production with those affiliated with cooperatives prioritizing sustainable coffee exports shows that farmer institutions were not strongly correlated with the number of lean months or coping mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Bacon, Christopher M. & Sundstrom, William A. & Stewart, Iris T. & Beezer, David, 2017. "Vulnerability to Cumulative Hazards: Coping with the Coffee Leaf Rust Outbreak, Drought, and Food Insecurity in Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 136-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:93:y:2017:i:c:p:136-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.025
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    2. Valencia, Vivian & García-Barrios, Luis & Sterling, Eleanor J. & West, Paige & Meza-Jiménez, Amayrani & Naeem, Shahid, 2018. "Smallholder response to environmental change: Impacts of coffee leaf rust in a forest frontier in Mexico," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 463-474.
    3. Bacon, Christopher M. & Sundstrom, William A. & Stewart, Iris T. & Maurer, Ed & Kelley, Lisa C., 2021. "Towards smallholder food and water security: Climate variability in the context of multiple livelihood hazards in Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Theocharidis, Dimitris & Karanikolas, Pavlos & Tsiboukas, Konstantinos, 2018. "Farmers' responses to stressors of an agri-food system: a Greek case study," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 0(Issue 2).
    5. Dupre, Samuel I. & Harvey, Celia A. & Holland, Margaret B., 2022. "The impact of coffee leaf rust on migration by smallholder coffee farmers in Guatemala," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Aniseh S. Bro, 2020. "Climate Change Adaptation, Food Security, and Attitudes toward Risk among Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Nicaragua," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Yen Pham & Kathryn Reardon-Smith & Shahbaz Mushtaq & Geoff Cockfield, 2019. "The impact of climate change and variability on coffee production: a systematic review," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 609-630, October.
    8. Guido, Zack & Knudson, Chris & Finan, Tim & Madajewicz, Malgosia & Rhiney, Kevon, 2020. "Shocks and cherries: The production of vulnerability among smallholder coffee farmers in Jamaica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    9. Ray-Bennett, Nibedita S., 2018. "Disasters, Deaths, and the Sendai Goal One: Lessons from Odisha, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 27-39.
    10. Jeannine H. Richards & Ingrid M. Torrez Luna & Alberto Vargas, 2021. "“A Very Noble Crop”: Financial Stability, Agronomic Expertise, and Personal Values Support Conservation in Shade-Grown Coffee Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-21, June.
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    12. Federico Davila, 2020. "Human ecology and food discourses in a smallholder agricultural system in Leyte, The Philippines," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 719-741, September.

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