Putting down new roots: The political economy of relevance for ‘climate-smart’ agriculture in rural Uganda.

Abstract: A growing body of literature within political ecology is concerned with the exercise of political and economic power within climate change policies (Robbins, 2020). In this thesis, I explore the political economy of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), using methodological reflections and empirical material from a case study of a Ugandan smallholder agricultural community. To assess how local community members perceive and relate to CSA, I apply a Critical Realist conceptual framework and an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, highlighting ‘lived experiences’ of the political economy context for CSA. Participation of local stakeholders along a community-based research design, and reflection about the research process itself as an ‘experience’ for participants, was the cornerstone of this approach. Drawing upon a Theory of Relevance framework, I show that farmers’ perceptions (and cognitive frameworks for adapting to them) have been affected by the political economies of land use and agriculture. I suggest that power relations and marginalization, through discursive, institutional, and material forces, have diminished the potential of CSA at the community level. Finally, I recommend that in order to cultivate the social change that is required for communities to mobilize around the idea of ‘climate-smart,’ CSA must consider and embrace the political economy factors influencing those communities.