ANNOUNCEMENTS
The agriculture sector is highly sensitive to climate change, which adversely affects farming communities, particularly smallholders. Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), as small businesses, encounter multiple risks and challenges, including those posed by climate change, which are less documented. This study examines climate risks to the Bhu Amrit FPO and identifies adaptation measures using the Climate Expert (CE) tool. Additionally, it assesses farmers' perceptions of existing and future adaptation strategies and their barriers. The study finds that increased pest attacks, water shortages, and heatwaves pose high risks to the FPO's business. Medium and low risks stem from heavy rainfall, reduced frost, elevated winter temperatures, and erratic rainfall, respectively. Currently, to cope with increased pests and drought-like conditions, more pesticides and increased flood irrigation are practiced. The most common barriers to implementing adaptation measures include access to finance, unavailability of water, labour shortages, and inadequate technological support. The CE tool approach and the comprehensive understanding of the FPO farmer members’ perceptions can help the farmer producer company climate-proof its business and facilitate private and public funding for implementing effective and feasible short-term and medium-term locally appropriate and gender transformative adaptation measures.
