Abstract

Reductions in water availability driven by climate change impose significant challenges to the sustainability of agricultural production worldwide, forcing farmers to adopt strategies that mitigate these impacts, where such responses are generally not isolated and homogeneous in their implementation. This study examines the adaptation behavior of farmers confronting a prolonged period of water scarcity for a sample of 235 farmers in Central Chile. A latent class analysis (LCA), a method specifically developed to uncover latent subgroups within a population, was employed to identify distinct classes of farmers’ behavior regarding their implementation of strategies to deal with water scarcity and to explore the factors influencing their adaptation actions. The findings reveal heterogeneous behavior among farmers, with three distinct adaptation strategies. The first class implemented short-term agronomic adjustments, primarily by reducing the cultivated area under irrigation, primarily influenced by water scarcity and bonding social capital. The second class uniquely reduces irrigation applications. Finally, the third class comprises on-farm long-term investments, such as modern irrigation systems and water infrastructure, driven by perennial crops and bridging networks. Furthermore, the high rate of non-adoption of long-term strategies (61%) underscores the need for better targeted policies that address farmers’ needs and heterogeneity by promoting more efficient irrigation management and agricultural practices, as well as enhancing adaptation to climate change in water-scarce environments. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.