Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights
Extreme weather events (EWEs) have significant effects on the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agricultural enterprises and supply chains. Australia is acknowledged as a highly susceptible developed country in relation to experiencing impacts from global climate change. Particularly...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024021285 |
| _version_ | 1797267732791558144 |
|---|---|
| author | Sabrina Haque Delwar Akbar Susan Kinnear |
| author_facet | Sabrina Haque Delwar Akbar Susan Kinnear |
| author_sort | Sabrina Haque |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extreme weather events (EWEs) have significant effects on the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agricultural enterprises and supply chains. Australia is acknowledged as a highly susceptible developed country in relation to experiencing impacts from global climate change. Particularly, the Central Queensland (CQ) region has experienced several recent severe weather events which has made stakeholders worried about the financial resilience and sustainability of their businesses along with the farmers. Although various Australian research has explored the biophysical effects of extreme weather on pome and citrus fruits, very little is known about the business impacts of EWEs on tropical fruits, and how the perceptions of stakeholders can play significant roles in constructing and implementing policies relevant to the tropical fruit farming sector. To fill this gap, this study explored stakeholder insights relating to the impacts of EWEs and relevant adaptation strategies used in tropical fruit farming businesses in sub-tropical Australia. A qualitative research approach was undertaken, involving in-depth interviews with key stakeholders from the tropical fruit farming supply chain, with data being analysed by thematic content analysis. Stakeholders indicated that in the previous five years, EWEs had impacted tropical fruit farming businesses and their related support industries and organisations in multiple ways. This study revealed that farmers’ lack of knowledge about available adaptation options, amongst other things, are obstacles preventing the industry from becoming more resilient. Several steps were identified to improve the speed and effectiveness of adaptation at the farm level, including further strategic planning and collaboration amongst state government, local government, farmers and associated industry parties; as well as the importance of farmers being self-prepared for future EWEs. To achieve the latter, stakeholders noted that farmers required industry-level support, including training, tools, and technologies. These findings will be of interest for fruit farming industry stakeholders, policy makers and relevant researchers, particularly for the many tropical coastal communities across the world, now finding themselves being impacted by EWEs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:00:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-507e4f1051cc4dfeb41f8171c730af6e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:21:16Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-507e4f1051cc4dfeb41f8171c730af6e2024-03-09T09:27:12ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01104e26097Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insightsSabrina Haque0Delwar Akbar1Susan Kinnear2School of Business and Law, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, Australia; Corresponding author.School of Business and Law, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, AustraliaSchool of Graduate Research, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD 4701, AustraliaExtreme weather events (EWEs) have significant effects on the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agricultural enterprises and supply chains. Australia is acknowledged as a highly susceptible developed country in relation to experiencing impacts from global climate change. Particularly, the Central Queensland (CQ) region has experienced several recent severe weather events which has made stakeholders worried about the financial resilience and sustainability of their businesses along with the farmers. Although various Australian research has explored the biophysical effects of extreme weather on pome and citrus fruits, very little is known about the business impacts of EWEs on tropical fruits, and how the perceptions of stakeholders can play significant roles in constructing and implementing policies relevant to the tropical fruit farming sector. To fill this gap, this study explored stakeholder insights relating to the impacts of EWEs and relevant adaptation strategies used in tropical fruit farming businesses in sub-tropical Australia. A qualitative research approach was undertaken, involving in-depth interviews with key stakeholders from the tropical fruit farming supply chain, with data being analysed by thematic content analysis. Stakeholders indicated that in the previous five years, EWEs had impacted tropical fruit farming businesses and their related support industries and organisations in multiple ways. This study revealed that farmers’ lack of knowledge about available adaptation options, amongst other things, are obstacles preventing the industry from becoming more resilient. Several steps were identified to improve the speed and effectiveness of adaptation at the farm level, including further strategic planning and collaboration amongst state government, local government, farmers and associated industry parties; as well as the importance of farmers being self-prepared for future EWEs. To achieve the latter, stakeholders noted that farmers required industry-level support, including training, tools, and technologies. These findings will be of interest for fruit farming industry stakeholders, policy makers and relevant researchers, particularly for the many tropical coastal communities across the world, now finding themselves being impacted by EWEs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024021285Tropical fruitsExtreme weather eventsStakeholder perceptionsThematic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Sabrina Haque Delwar Akbar Susan Kinnear Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights Heliyon Tropical fruits Extreme weather events Stakeholder perceptions Thematic analysis |
| title | Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights |
| title_full | Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights |
| title_fullStr | Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights |
| title_short | Identifying impacts & adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub-tropical Australia: Stakeholders’ insights |
| title_sort | identifying impacts amp adaptation strategies for tropical fruit farms affected by extreme weather events in sub tropical australia stakeholders insights |
| topic | Tropical fruits Extreme weather events Stakeholder perceptions Thematic analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024021285 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sabrinahaque identifyingimpactsampadaptationstrategiesfortropicalfruitfarmsaffectedbyextremeweathereventsinsubtropicalaustraliastakeholdersinsights AT delwarakbar identifyingimpactsampadaptationstrategiesfortropicalfruitfarmsaffectedbyextremeweathereventsinsubtropicalaustraliastakeholdersinsights AT susankinnear identifyingimpactsampadaptationstrategiesfortropicalfruitfarmsaffectedbyextremeweathereventsinsubtropicalaustraliastakeholdersinsights |