The document discusses agricultural adaptation practices for dealing with climate change uncertainties. It summarizes two farms in Costa Rica - La Socola farm and La Hacienda Aquiares - that have implemented sustainable practices to increase resilience. Some common practices included integrated pest management, soil management, irrigation techniques, agrobiodiversity, and adjusting crop management based on climate observations. Both farms emphasized the importance of understanding their agroecosystem and social system and continuously adapting practices based on new conditions and information exchange.

1. Dealing with uncertainties:
Good adaptation practices
Nap Expo 2016
Bonn July, 11-15 2016
Katia Marzall,
Leader Resilience and Comprehensive Risk Management in Agriculture
Contacts: katia.marzall@iica.int
http://www.iica.int/en

2. Adapting to climate change requires actions in different fronts. One of
the central actions, is establishing resilient agricultural systems.
The final objective of NAPs and other adaptation related policies is to
create a favorable environment for farmers (in the case of agriculture) to
make the best decisions possible, maintaining their activity viable,
guarantying food production and livelihood reproduction.
Here are a couple of examples, of systems that adopted production
practices that allowed them to face changes in climate
A day ON the farm:

3. http://www.euroclima.iica.int/un_dia_en_la_finca

4. La Socola Farm
18 year organic vegetable production
12 ha
Costa Rica, Cartago Region
Reference producer and supplier for
Cartago, San Jose, and surroundings
Shifting on rain season and patterns, as
well as wind behavior impacted on plant
health and production capacity

5. Some practices
• Integrated pest management (IPM)
• Soil management: organic fertilization
and minimum tillage
– Soil structure, water storage capacity,

6. • Dripping and aspersion irrigation
techniques – controlled irrigation
during dryer period
• Green houses for vulnerable plants
at vulnerable periods
Some practices

7. • Agrobiodiversity: resistance, synergy,
market security
• Fruit trees amongst vegetable garden
• Wind breaks
Some practices

8. Learned lessons
• Shifting to an organic system required
Don Roberto to see his farm as an
agroecosystem, and to understand
how to work with natural local
resources, and energy, water and
nutrient cycles.
• He developed a strong knowledge on
phytopathology as well as ecological
processes, that are central to adjust
his production to environmental / and
climate changes.
• He created a farmers`s association,
that allows for information and
experiences exchange

9. La Hacienda Aquiares, since 1890
924 ha, coffee production
20 years agroforestry system
RainForest Alliance certificate
one of the leaders in coffee production in Costa Rica
Costa Rica, Turrialba / Atlantic exposure
location: exposed to intense climatic variability as well
as tropical storms and hurricanes
the current climate change impacts, evidentiates that
the farm has created a resilient system, by adopting
sustainable practices, protecting environment, making
adequate use of natural resources, as well as a healthy
social environment, a cornerstone of this establishment

10. Some practices
At the plant level: Increasing plant
resistance
• Selected varieties more adapted to
the new climatic conditions
• Grafting to increase resistance
towards nematodes

11. System level: changes on production system and plant management
• Establish agroforestry system to create a more favorable environment,
reducing soil erosion and increasing CO2 storage*
• Slow-release fertilizer (SRF)
• Forest preservation areas, preserving aquifers and biodiversity protection
• Integrated pest management
• Adjusting system management to new climate cycle **
• Soil erosion control
Some practices

12. *Establishing agroforestry
agroforestry: coffee produced together with
a variety of forest, fruit or legume species.
• Different shadow systems have different functions
– Lower altitude (820-1000m) – shadow very important to create more favorable
microclimate for coffee plants
– Medium altitude (1000-12000m) – shadow still has a function to lower
temperature, but also bring other ecosystem benefits
– High altitude ( 1200-1350m) – protection against heavy rains and winds
• Further, the farm experiments with different shadow formation (species, pruning,
density), and coffee varieties, not only for production purposes, but also effects on
carbon emission and storage.

13. Adjusting system management to
new climate conditions **
• Flowering has shifted from three main periods
(January, April and May), to just one.
• Harvesting was usually from October to February,
in 2014 harvest started in July and ended in
January, while in 2015 it started in December.
(precision agriculture)
• Usually, the establishment of new plantation areas was done in March and April.
Lately, the rainy season became unstable.
• To face this new condition, the farm established protected cultivation
(greenhouses), to protect seedlings against heavy rains

14. Lessons learned
• A commitment with sustainable
development on all its components:
technical, environmental and social,
structured decision making and technologic innovation, aiming at social and
environmental wellbeing, resulting on positive results on the economic front as well.
• The changes on the production system considered mainly sustainability of natural
and social resources. However, they have a positive effect in strengthening its
resilience. Those practices can be considered as “no regret”, since they are cost
effective, and bring positive outcomes to the production, with or without changes in
climate patterns.

16. Some common points
1. Know your system: (Data information, knowledge)
- your ecosystem
- your agroecosystem
plant and animal physiology, relations, behavior
- your social system
And how all the elements interact

18. Some common points
1. Know your system: (Data information, knowledge)
- your ecosystem
- your agroecosystem
plant and animal physiology, relations, behavior
- your social system
And how all the elements interact
2. Observe changes, and look for alternatives (Gaps and needs)
3. Exchange information about new conditions, new opportunities
(technological, market…)

20. Some common points
1. Know your system: (Data information, knowledge)
- your ecosystem
- your agroecosystem
plant and animal physiology, relations, behavior
- your social system
And how all the elements interact
2. Observe changes, and look for alternatives (Gaps and needs)
3. Exchange information about new conditions, new opportunities
(technological, market…)
4. Consult information regarding new conditions, technologies,
alternatives, trends

23. Some common points
1. Know your system: (Data information, knowledge)
- your ecosystem
- your agroecosystem
plant and animal physiology, relations, behavior
- your social system
And how all the elements interact
2. Observe changes, and look for alternatives (Gaps and needs)
3. Exchange information about new conditions, new opportunities
(technological, market…)
4. Consult information regarding new conditions, technologies,
alternatives, trends
5. Embrace complexity and uncertainty … continuously