Climate change and farmers’ perception in Sivakasi taluk, India: a nexus and a suggestion for sustainable water reuse

Abstract

Climate change poses a major threat to agriculture and food security, especially in developing countries where farmers depend on rainfall and groundwater for irrigation. This paper investigates how farmers in Sivakasi taluk, Tamil Nadu, India perceive and respond to climate change – rainfall and temperature – and its impacts on agriculture. Actual rainfall and temperature data are analyzed using Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator test, and the results are compared against the farmers’ perceptions obtained through a questionnaire survey. The trend analysis showed an insignificant decrease in rainfall and a significant increase in temperature. Most farmers perceived rainfall change correctly, but not temperature change. It is found that water scarcity is a major challenge for agriculture due to reduced rainfall, increased temperature, and inadequate adaptations. To address this challenge, water reuse is proposed as a sustainable alternate adaptation that involves using treated wastewater (TWW) from a decentralized sewage treatment plant for irrigation. An index named Water Reuse Index (WRI) is developed to estimate the fraction of TWW that can replace freshwater irrigation. This study provides insights into farmers’ perception of climate change and suggests a novel way to enhance water security and resilience in agriculture.