Drought risk management: Pilot study on vulnerability and local coping strategies Drought risk management: Pilot study on vulnerability and local coping strategies

Article available on lin e / Article dispon ible en lign e à l'adresse : Abstract. During the worst drought in 5 decades in the central and southern Chile, FAO and the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture joined efforts to carry-out a pilot study to address the vulnerability context and identify local coping strategies. Two cases of study were chosen in drought-prone areas with rainfed agriculture. The different impacts caused by drought and coping strategies were evaluated using a survey and focus groups with rural communities. The results indicate that vulnerability of the rural livelihood is correlated to factors such as: source of income, age of the farmers, distance from urban areas, environment depletion, and lack of social network. The risk reduction measures implemented by farmers prove to be significantly different between the two areas studied, being both ineffective and reactive. The results of this study have supported the design of the National System for Agroclimatic risk management in Chile. To cite th is article / Pou r citer cet article Keywords. Drought -Risk management -Vulnerability -Coping strategies -Rainfed agriculture