Results from an Evidence Synthesis of Process Evaluations of Climate Adaptation in Smallholder Food Production Programs

Food security and environmental crises have become major concerns worldwide, particularly affecting vulnerable groups in the Global South. Small-scale producers must adopt innovative, climate-adaptive practices to mitigate these crises. Norad commissioned AIR to synthesize the barriers and facilitators to successful climate adaptations in food production for small-scale food producers and fishers. We identified 1,627 process evaluations from four scholarly and 23 practitioner databases, 70 of which we included. We mapped study characteristics by adaptation focus, geography, and sector; assessed methodological quality; extracted relevant data using a deductive coding framework based on DAC criteria; and inductively identified new themes during data coding. We applied GRADE-CERQUAL to assess confidence in the review findings.
Interventions that incorporated contextual analyses, needs assessments, and consideration of women’s roles were far more relevant to participants than those that did not. Further, demonstrating the profit or production value of the climate adaptation facilitated uptake, particularly when results were seen quickly. Linkages with the private sector and support to produce market-quality products were important to adopting new practices.
Interventions that failed to incorporate needs assessments were less relevant to participants, encountered more difficulties during implementation, and were less likely to be sustainable. A lack of understanding of needs, capacities, and practicalities meant that some projects used inappropriate approaches for the context or left significant challenges unaddressed.
Designs failed to account for severe weather events, limited water infrastructure and access, and the general inaccessibility of project sites impeded intervention effectiveness. Two cultural factors—the mobile and migratory nature of participants and gender norms restricting women’s participation in activities—also moderated the intervention effectiveness. Finally, inflation and changes in input prices were the primary economic factors that hindered the effectiveness and sustainability of climate adaptive approaches.