A Study of Farmers’ Awareness About Climate Change and Adaptation Practices in India

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy, and climate change significantly affects agriculture productivity. The present study was conducted in one district of Uttarakhand state in the North Himalayan region of India bordering Nepal and China. The study sample comprised 110 farmers selected by using simple random sampling. Study findings indicate that all the farmers were found to be aware of the climate change, and majority of them reported “erratic rainfall, diminishing agricultural yield and increase in temperature” as the indicators of climate change. The increasing industrialisation, overpopulation and deforestation’ were perceived by farmers to be the main causes of climate change. Further, most of the farmers reported crop failures, migration to other places and flooding’ as three major consequences (impact) of climate change. The study findings will help in preparing a roadmap for policy formulation as well as undertaking mitigation measures besides helping the agriculture extension agencies to design and plan locale specific adaptation strategies and agriculture development programmes