Farming in the Face of Uncertainty: How Colombian Coffee Farmers Conceptualize and Communicate Their Experiences With Climate Change

Authors

  • Natalie J. Lambert Purdue University
  • Jessica Eise Purdue University

Keywords:

climate change, environmental communication, uncertainty

Abstract

Climate change is impacting agricultural systems around the globe, but little research has focused on how agricultural producers communicate their firsthand experiences with climate change impacts. Coffee, Colombia’s largest agricultural export (indirectly responsible for the livelihood of 2 million Colombians), is uniquely vulnerable to climate change. This study lays the groundwork for future adaptation communication efforts by analyzing 45 in-person, in-depth interviews of coffee farmers in Risaralda, Colombia. Dimensionalization, a grounded theory approach, is used to offer a theoretical data matrix to capture the major factors involved in Colombian farmers’ experiences with climate change from the farmers’ own perspective. The findings illustrate the conditions underlying Colombian coffee farmers’ belief that climate change impacts threaten their livelihoods and put farmers in a constant state of uncertainty.

Author Biographies

Natalie J. Lambert, Purdue University

Assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University where she conducts health informatics and human communication research by employing computational methodologies to analyze large-scale datasets. She uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques to understand how human behaviors as well as organizational data can be leveraged to facilitate decision-making and behavior change campaigns. Her work is published in outlets such as Communication Monographs and Health Communication.

Jessica Eise, Purdue University

Jessica Eise is a writer, researcher, and Ross Fellow in the Purdue University Brian Lamb School of Communication doctoral program. Her areas of interest are climate change, food security, agriculture and global chronic stressors. Jessica’s articles have appeared in CNBC, Salon, MarketWatch and Thomson Reuters Foundation News, amongst others. Her books include How to Feed the World, The Communication Scarcity in Agriculture and other works. Jessica is currently the principal investigator on a multidisciplinary, international grant-funded project to create a climate change adaptation information network in Colombia. She has a master’s in journalism and international relations from New York University and formerly worked in international media production, new media and communications.

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Published

2020-01-01

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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