Farmers’ perception of climate change and livelihood vulnerability: a comparative study of Bundelkhand and Central regions of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

AbstractIndian farmers are vulnerable to changing climate with unpredictable rainfall distribution, rising temperature, and complex socioeconomic conditions. The present study aims to assess livelihood vulnerability of farmers in two regions of the most populous State of Uttar Pradesh namely Bundelkhand and Central region. By using multistage random sampling technique, a total of 480 samples from 16 villages, 8 development blocks, 4 districts, and 2 regions were selected to elicit grass-root information on farmers’ perception of climate change, their sensitivity and adaptive capacity to changing climate, and determinants of livelihood vulnerability. Further, this study has adopted methodology mentioned in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth Assessment Report for the development of climate vulnerability index. The results show that farmers in Jhansi district were highly vulnerable to changing climate, while farmers in Barabanki district were relatively less vulnerable. The elevated degree of vulnerability to livelihood in Jhansi district attributed to its comparatively higher exposure and sensitivity to climatic change. The Binary Logistic Regression results show that illiterate farmers are relatively more vulnerable than literate farmers. On the contrary, higher income, assured irrigation, the use of certified seeds, and crop insurance are negatively associated with the LVI. In other words, farmers who have income from non-farm sources, use certified and recommended seed varieties, and avail themselves of crop insurance are relatively less vulnerable to climate change than those who do not have the aforesaid facilities. Hence, the present study suggests that farmers, must adapt to climate change to reduce its negative impact and reap the benefits of adaptation which can be achieved through capacity building, skill development (i.e., use of ultra-modern techniques), and capacity to strengthen the farmers’ ability to adapt. Further, there is also a need to sensitize government officials on the dangers of climate change and to provide appropriate technical support to farmers for their adaptation.