The Impact of Disasters on Adaptive Collective Action Among Farmers: Evidence from China’s Border Regions

Climate change has profoundly impacted human development, with disasters serving as a prominent manifestation of its effects on societies. While disasters impose significant disruptions on agricultural production and rural livelihoods, they may also create a “window of opportunity” for rural development by motivating farmers to enhance their adaptive capacities through social learning and collective action. Existing research on disaster impacts predominantly focuses on individual decision-making under assumptions of full rationality, with limited systematic attention to collective action among rural households. Furthermore, studies examining collective action rarely address how external ecological systems influence such behaviors. To address these gaps, this study employs survey data from 419 households across 80 villages in Guangxi, China, revealing two critical findings: (1) disasters exert a significant positive effect on farmers’ participation in response-focused collective actions but a notable negative impact on their engagement in prevention-focused collective actions; and (2) these relationships are mediated by shifts in farmers’ risk perception levels. Building on these insights, this study proposes strategies to strengthen farmers’ collective action by enhancing risk perception and fostering collaborative governance mechanisms between governments and local communities. These measures aim to improve the effective provision and equitable allocation of disaster-response resources, thereby bolstering rural resilience.