The Consultant carried out preliminary household baseline surveys on two field visits to the Bua Yai subdistrict in Na Noi district. The initial visit was from February 8, 2021 to February 11, 2021, and the second visit was made from February 27, 2021 to March 1, 2021. The survey collated comparative baseline and primary data through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. The field visits elicited baseline data on stakeholder understanding of climate change and capacity to assess impacts, knowledge of CSA, organic farming, agri-business, and value chains; and understand the communities’ circumstances, especially the impacts of climate change on the agricultural livelihoods of villagers in Bua Yai subdistrict.
The field visits revealed that the government officials and villagers in the area recognize climate change as a major constraint to the agricultural productivity in Bua Yai subdistrict. As an adaptation measure, farmers have adjusted their crop calendar and commencing plantations as soon as rain starts. However, there has been no tangible program to strengthen the capacities of local government officials on this matter other than this measure. This is because farmers are uncertain regarding substantial returns if they switched crops. Due to this reason, they are still practicing traditional forms of agriculture. Therefore, these conditions have led to the farmers being highly in favor of the TA and investigating potential sites for demonstrating climate–smart water management and solar irrigation system. The farmers believe that implementing climate–smart technologies in their area would help them cope with reduced crop yields due to water shortages caused by climate change.
