Regardless of the regional setting, there are ways to improve food use practices and limit the waste of food. With respect to lost production, however, the impacts of climate change represent a new and increasing mega-challenge for farmers around the world. These impacts include increases in temperatures, changing rain patterns and more extreme weather events such as drought, heavy rain and heat waves. For smallholder and middle-scale farmers to deal with these impacts, greater resilience of their operations in the face of climate change is needed. In Costa Rica, one way to achieve greater resilience is through agroforestry. At EARTH University in Costa Rica, they are doing agroforestry themselves in order to get experience that they can pass on to local farmers who want to make the change from traditional agriculture. Their scientists lead the work in the field. My name is Victor Hugo Morales Peña, I'm Venezuelan, and I'm a professor of Tropical Agriculture at the University of EARTH In at the moment, we are in a forest trial, where we investigate the interactions that may occur in shrubby components. Of course, we have perennial and annual components. We are currently in the implementing phase, and this research has been going on for 15-20 years. Right now they are identifying the next area, where they will establish agroforestry. In agroforestry, diversity of crops including different tree species and sorts is, of course, important. On this field, cocoa, plantains, bananas, honey melon, curcuma and mucuna beans will all be produced. The future goal is to spread the principle of agroforestry over their 450 acres of banana production. For Victor, the benefits of agroforestry are many: As far as the benefits of agroforestry systems goes we can divide them into two views an economic and ecological one. Economically, we have the producers or people, who work in agroforestry systems, who can diversify crops, and in short medium and long term, have cash flow. Ecologically, the issue of diversity is very important today, especially in regards to the lowland here in Costa Rica. Moreover, the sustainable management of soils, in this case practices that are eco-friendly, and that somehow allow the internal cycle that gives a new level of transformations, like the transformation of organic matter, that can become more eco-friendly. With respect to climate action, agroforestry helps bind CO2 from the atmosphere. While with respect to climate adaptation, Victor stresses the benefits of agroforestry on the quality of the soil the most. An important aspect in agroforestry is the relation between plant components and soil. The subject of organic matter is essential to improve soil fertility and of course maintain production over time. In this case, introducing components of different commercial lines, like annual, perennial and shrubby components, allow the recycling process of organic matter as it is activated in the soil through microorganisms as well. In short, these processes that occur and that somehow maintain those characteristics are necessary for production. Agroforestry and agroecology both aim at producing crops in a manner that is more reminiscent of nature than is the case with the intensive farming of mono-cultures. They are not, however, just a matter of crop diversity. Central to both agroforestry and agroecology are resource recycling, general efficiency and the co-creation and sharing of knowledge. Especially, when taking into account the role of biodiversity, as a buffer against environmental and economic risks. Agroecology systems have been shown to have a higher production than industrial monoculture in scenarios of high climate stress. For example, a study of 180 communities of smallholders in Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch found that farms with agroecological practices on average retained 40% more topsoil than conventional farms. These practices included use of green manure, crop rotation and integration of natural elements such as stubble, ditches, terraces, barriers, mulch, legumes and trees. Biodiversity also often plays a key role in delivering resilience as it acts as a buffer against environmental and economic risks Roberto Azofeifa from the ministry of agriculture in Costa Rica shows us around on one of the farms, that has adopted agroecology as a principle. For this farm to achieve resilience against climate change, a series of practices have been conducted to control erosion, more efficient use of irrigation, annual crops, drip irrigation, and the harmonisation of coffee plantations is a very important issue. The use of organic waste to fertilise the soil and reduce the use of nitrogen fertiliser is a practice that consequences in giving too much productive plantation, but in turn, a production system less dependent on external inputs. Now, this should be enough; the producer implements practical business practices to generate added value to their product, in order to gain a higher income. Because, resilience also means that we need systems with capacity to recover using economics savings so that when the moment comes, that some extreme condition hits, the affected can recover. Here, we have a clear case: the whole coffee production was lost in the drought of 2015, but thanks to the savings the family had, they could recover buying coffee from from other neighbors who have similar quality, so the family could maintain their customers. They cannot simply say that there is no coffee, because then they'll lose their customers. In addition, they're now in a process of making changes and planting for varieties that are much more resistant and that also have a larger market. this is a quite complex issue, but it shows with this farm that if this set of practices is put in place, we can achieve systems that adapt well in the face of climate change as a really sufficient resilience to be able to give continuity to the productive process. To increase overall resilience of food production, climate change adaptation of farming practices is not enough. Providing farmers with insurance, not just on the food they have already produced, but also on their farm as a whole, is also important. One of the issues that is important to analyse is insurance. Because in these conditions, the producer has many risks in the production phase. However, there are not always resources available to ensure the harvest in times of trouble. At this farm for example, they have the possibility of having insurance, but only once the coffee bean crop is harvested and enters the processing phase. Before that, when the coffee beans are still in the field, it's not possible as there are high risks, and the insurance companies do not want to take those risks. It's much easier, when the product has already been harvested. But we have to think about increasing resilience if we really want to strengthen the sustainability of the production system. For the farmer, steps to further climate adaptation go hand in hand with preparation for extreme weather events through insurance, as on-farm initiatives are linked with premiums. Marianella Feoli expands on how they offer insurance to farmers at Fundecooperación in Costa Rica. We have an alliance with the National Insurance Institute that focuses on crop insurance and agricultural insurance in Costa Rica. We have succeeded in strengthening crop and livestock insurance, so they take climate changes into consideration, and what that entails is improvements in adapting to climate change, soil improvements and if the product includes i.e. drip irrigation, precision agriculture, or improvements in the incorporation of more organic elements in the soil, and reduced erosion risk; and other measures that have made genetic improvement in the livestock sector. So due to having implemented these adaptation practices the producer can get cheaper insurance, and has access to the insurance that they didn't have prior, because, now there needs to be a collective insurance option that small producers can access, and then having an insurance possibility means more possibility of financing. We, as a microfinance entity, reduce the risk of non-bankable producers, the producer also has less risk of losing his crop, and in the end everyone wins. And the system is very organized and clear for the farmer, so no doubt is left in the farmer’s mind as to which improvements give the highest value and the lowest premium. As part of the alliance with the Institute, we made an analysis of 12 different crops and what adaptation practices that had to be implemented for each of the crops, and depending on the areas. With the support of a local university we are able to say: for each of these crops, you should take these initiatives. Then the National Insurance Institute takes that and turns it into a manual of premiums. So the producer, depending on the crop and the area, has a number of possible initiatives or practices, and each are worth a certain percentage. So if you want a 25% reduction in premiums, then you need to do these and these changes of practices. In this way, reduction of food waste and loss is not only about improving storage, transportation and connection between producers, vendors and consumers, but also about strengthening resilience among the farmers.
