User:Adapta Sertao

Adapta Sertao: Adapting small farmers to climate change in rural Brazil

Overview The northeast region of Brazil is considered one of the most socially, economically and environmentally vulnerable areas of Brazil due to the prolonged and recurrent periods of droughts that affect the population and the local economy. The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that the periods of droughts and heavy precipitations are likely to increase in the region over the next coming years.

Description In 2004, as a result of what was occuring in the region, various non-profit, academic and private sector leaders initiated a program to mobilise technological, human, financial and public policy resources in order to devise new methods of living in the Brazilian semi-arid and adapting to the impacts of climate change by better use of the water infrastructure available (i.e. earth dams and wells). The vision of the project was to provide sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers by guaranteeing food security and a stable income for these farmers without destroying the local ecosystem. The Adapta Sertão network was created from the experienced gained in the Pintadas pilot, and the idea has evolved. Today the network brings together municipalities, public, private, non-profit and academic institutions with a mission to develop an effective and sustainable agricultural production model that helps in adapting small farmers to climate change impacts.