Adaptation planning

The selection process should be undertaken jointly with relevant coffee actors (e.g. in a stakeholder meeting) in the locality or region. Stakeholders can make a critical contribution with their experience, know-how and understanding of local circumstances, and their participation can also increase awareness of climate issues and foster farmer ownership of activities. It is also important to recognize that the success or failure of an adaptation option may have as much to do with the way it is implemented as with how appropriate the option is in the first place. Local stakeholders must play a key role in interpreting how appropriate an option is for their specific local context.

Possible options may range from changing farming practices (e.g. the introduction of cover crops) to addressing the landscape level (e.g. the introduction of a water harvesting system for irrigating coffee or crop diversification to assure broader food security). The c&c initiative has thus far worked mainly at the farm level with a focus on technical interventions. However, capacity building in the region and adaption beyond the farm, in the broader community, are just as important.

Once you have selected the adaptation options, you need to develop an operational plan that includes detailed steps for implementation, as well as corresponding resources and a timeframe for each task. It is at this point that developing a ‘theory of change’, a project pathway, can be particularly useful. This is simply a way of agreeing, understanding and testing the objectives, logic and assumptions that underpin the chosen option. Outlining this logic will also help you develop indicators for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of adaptation measures at an early stage.

Before rolling out the full implementation of adaptation options on a large scale, it is crucial to first validate their suitability in the local context (see Step 4 for further information on implementation and validation of adaptation options).

The results of Step 3 should be a selection of suitable adaptation options and an operational plan for their testing and implementation. This includes the defined scope of implementation (e.g. if validation of a specific option requires testing or if it can go straight to large-scale implementation) and the course of action. Validation might involve a range of activities, including demonstration plots, exchange visits, Farmer Field Schools or other approaches (see Step 4).

Another important aspect is the development of a logic map or project pathway that sets out the objectives, assumptions and logic behind the chosen adaptation option(s).

By involving relevant stakeholders in validation and implementation, they can become aware of the adaptation measures that have been prioritized, and get clarity on their potential roles and contributions.