Public institutions’ capacities regarding climate change adaptation and risk management support in agriculture: the case of Punjab Province, Pakistan

Public institutions could play an important role in building agricultural resilience to climate change by providing information and technology support to farmers. This study takes the case of Pakistan to investigate the perspective and capacities of public institutions as well as to identify gaps in current institutional arrangements in dealing and managing climate change in the agriculture sector. For this purpose, 53 office bearers from thirteen public institutions in Punjab province of Pakistan were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to collect data on climate knowledge, training, coordination, and resource availability. The study uses an index-based approach to calculate Institutional Capacity Indices (ICI) based on selected seven indicators. The results of the index analysis show that institutions have the least financial capacity, followed by lacking physical and human resources. Whereas results show high index value for perception and knowledge, indicating a good understanding of climate change at the institutional level. The overall ICI index value indicates a medium level capacity of institutions in dealing with climate change. Moreover, the study shows that gaps in management, non-availability of financial and physical resources, and lack of training are the key bottlenecks for limited adaptation support from public institutions. This study highlights the importance of reducing gaps so that institutions could play their role in building the resilience of the agriculture sector to climate change.