Enhancing drought resilience and vulnerability assessment in small farms: A global expert survey on multidimensional indicators

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to evaluate drought vulnerability and resilience within the context of small-scale farms. Small-scale farms are distinguished by their family-oriented motives, which prioritize maintaining the stability of the household farm system. This type of farming is responsible for a significant part of the world's food production, thus identifying their vulnerability and resilience to drought is essential to avoid adverse socioeconomic impacts. The paper contributes to this issue by presenting the findings of a comprehensive global survey conducted among experts on drought risk analysis, focusing on indicators related to drought resilience and vulnerability in small-scale farming. An online questionnaire was sent to experts asking them to rate a list of 36 indicators in terms of five metrics: relevancy, accessibility, objectivity, understanding, and temporal consistency. Each indicator was rated on a three-point scale (low, medium, and high). The survey was entirely completed by 120 experts from 42 countries and different areas of expertise. The survey results offer a comprehensive evaluation of multiple indicators, contributing to future research by guiding the selection of indicators for composite drought resilience indexes and enhancing the understanding of farmers' and food systems' climate resilience. The survey results indicate that: i) government and institutional indicators are very relevant for drought resilience assessment; ii) there is an undefined role for social indicators in drought vulnerability assessment; iii) experts still do not perceive the importance of local engagement in drought risk management; iv) the use of relevant indicators in drought risk assessment can be limited because of a lack of accessibility and temporal consistency.