Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of Climate Resilience of Farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP)

The Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of Climate Resilience of Farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP) is a tool developed by FAO, available as a tablet or smartphone app,  that enables smallholder farmers and pastoralists to assess their own climate resilience. The SHARP tool is implemented in three phases:

(1) A participatory self-assessment survey of smallholder farmers and pastoralists regarding their climate resilience;

(2) A double gap analysis and assessment of the responses : (i) at local level with the farmers and pastoralists in a rapid assessment and (ii) through a cross-sectional review of multiple assessments, including with local government officials and policy makers, to assess agricultural and pastoral policies regarding effectiveness and gaps;

(3) The use of all data collected, in conjunction with climate and scientific data, to inform and guide farmers’ practices, curricula, and local and national policies.

The self-assessment leads interviewees to consider their environmental, social, economic, governance and agricultural practices so as to obtain a holistic understanding of their climate resilience. The farmers and pastoralists answer questions that are tailored to their specific context, rank the adequacy of the component (e.g. access to markets or water quality) and then indicate the importance of that component for their livelihood. The SHARP app allows to go beyond traditional extractive surveys by providing immediate offline results and encourages communities to learn from each other and plan activities for improvement. All questions in the survey were screened to be gender-sensitive, including access to resources, and the results are gender-disaggregated. The SHARP approach aims to integrate the tool within participatory and community-driven programmes, such as farmer field schools.