Analyzing the Vulnerability and Resilience of Farmers and Citrus Production to Climate Change in the Mazandaran Province

Climate change has had broad effects on production and human societies in terms of environmental and socio-economic dimensions. In the last two decades, severe damages has been made to citrus production in the north of Iran, due to the incidence of frost, as a climatic phenomenon. However, the effects of this climatic phenomenon on citrus production and farmers’ vulnerability and resilience have not been comprehensively studied. This study aimed to understand citrus production and farmers’ vulnerability and resilience mechanisms to the climatic phenomenon of frost from the perspective of agricultural specialists and extension agents. This research used a mixed method containing a combination of case study and grounded theory. Data were collected through document analysis, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with the specialists and extension agents of the Agriculture-Jahad Organization in the Mazandaran Province working at the provincial, township and sub-county levels, who were selected using the purposive sampling technique and based on the snowball sampling method. The results indicates that extreme low tempretures have occurred much more frequently during the last two decades in the region, which hve caused many citrus orchards that are mainly sensitive to extreme low temperatures. This has increased the vulnerability of cirtrus farmers. Moreover, despite the solutions suggested by experts, the measures taken by citrus farmers to reduce their vulnerability and increase their resilience have been very limited and have not been implemented in a timely manner. The knowledge and financial, credit, institutional supports have also been insufficient and not provided timely.