title: No farmer is an island: mechanisms behind successful climate services in and around Honduras
Creators: name: Giraldo Mendez, Diana Carolina
Publisher: name: University of Reading
Year: 2023

description: The provision of climate services has grown in an unprecedented manner over the last 
decade in response to climate-related risks in several sectors of the global economy, 
and most notably in agriculture. Effective climate services must prioritize 
understanding the drivers that influence farmer decision-making and shape adaptation 
strategies, rather than simply offering prescriptive forms of information transfer. 
Numerous studies document lessons learnt from (un)successful climate services, 
attempting to distil these into key principles, recommendations, or requirements. 
However, limited systematic analysis and data on the characteristics of the climate 
services that are conducive to success exist to date. This thesis advances our 
understanding of what it means to establish participatory climate services for small-scale farmers on the ground in two main and contrasting agricultural systems—coffee 
and staple grains. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrated participatory 
tools, farmer questionnaires, focus groups, in-depth interviews with farmers, and 
various actors in a case study, the research found that placing the farmer at the core 
the climate services development encouraged them to make their own decisions 
based on the analysis of information and their needs (98%, n = 209 famers in the Dry 
Corridor in Honduras), shifting away from the traditional top-down approach. This 
helped to establish an evaluation framework that supports the long-term sustainability 
of this service through a multi-stakeholder network involving at least 279 institutions 
across various levels and with diverse roles in four countries in Latin America. 
Collectively, the elements of this thesis contribute to a wider discourse on the factors 
influencing the success of climate services in terms of effectiveness, sustainability, 
and scalability, as well as a deeper comprehension of what determines "farmer 
participation" in climate services. The thesis also synthesizes an extensive body of 
systematic literature that has emerged within the climate service for agriculture domain 
over the past decade, augmenting our overall understanding of the nature of climate 
services, their evolution, and the existing gaps and challenges. The framework 
developed in this research is a valuable tool for advancing climate services research 
and informing the design and evaluation of interventions that cater to farmers' specific 
needs. Emphasizing participatory engagement and diverse representation has 
fostered a robust governance framework that strengthens rural development and 
resilience at the community level. Furthermore, establishing two-way communication 
and trustworthy relationships among climate and crop scientists, agronomists, 
farmers, and other stakeholders participating in the process has been essential for 
enabling improved and more effective climate services that support farmers’ decision-making in the real world.