Climate change scenario: A study on perception, adaptation and mitigation strategies in reference to Indian farmers

Abstract

The issue of impact of climate change on agriculture has emerged in recent decades and it is necessary to evaluate its impact on agriculture. It is resulting in problems with food security and may threaten the livelihood activities upon which much of the population depends. However it may affect crop yields both positively and negatively, as well as the types of crops that can be grown in certain areas, by impacting agricultural inputs such as water for irrigation, amounts of solar radiation that affect plant growth, as well as the prevalence of pests. Keeping in mind the importance of the issue a study was conducted in two villages of Haryana state. The objective of the study was to determine the perception of farmers on issue of climate change. A sample of 300 respondents (40 %) was randomly selected from a total population of 800 farmers. Data were collected from the sampled respondents in 2013 and 2014. Most of the farmers (69.3 %) perceived that climate change started between last 5 to15 years. Almost half of the farmers (48.0%) believe that environmental factor is responsible for climate change and felt that both rainy season and cold season start late and are of shorter duration. Hot season shows opposite scenario as it starts early but is prolonged. Mean duration of hot season has significantly increased in recent past compared to last decade. Similarly, they perceived that hotness has increased (88.7%) and coldness has reduced (60.0%). Farmers observed a reduction in overall rainfall (83.3%) as well as variation in the speed and duration of strong wind. They felt that incidence of drought has increased (73.3 %). However the educational status of the farmers and access to extension services had significant association with their perceived cause towards climate change.