Impediments and Plausible Suggestions to Farmers in Cyclone Affected Region of Odisha: Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance Approach

Abstract

Taking into account the farmer's perception of impediments, this study examined the impediments encountered in cyclone ravaged regions as well as their plausible suggestions. Odisha is one of the top 10 ranked climatic vulnerable state of India. 480 km of coastal boundary is exposed to Bay of Bengal and 06 coastal districts are highly vulnerable towards climatic events. As Odisha has an agrarian economy, farmers are severely affected by cyclones. So, the state was purposively selected for the study. Total of 160 respondent farmers were chosen randomly from 8 villages of 2 districts. 20 specific impediments (constraints) were further categorized into 4 broad dimensions of impediments viz., social, economic, environmental, and miscellaneous impediments. Impediments were ranked using Garrett's ranking method, while Kendall's coefficient of concordance approach was executed to rank 4 broad dimensions of impediments. Among 20 impediments, "rain and storms lead to flooding after cyclone" with Garrett's mean value 64.53 was perceived as the most important one. Kendall's coefficient of concordance was significant at 1% significance level (p=.000, <0.01) with the commendable agreement value of 0.588, as it ranges from 0 to 1. Where, Zero denotes nonexistent of agreement among judges, and one denotes perfect agreement with the ?2 value of 282.192 with 3 degrees of freedom. Kendall's coefficient of concordance values for 4 broad impediments were environmental impediment (3.53) was ranked first as constraint followed by economic impediment (2.85), social impediment (2.40) and miscellaneous impediment (1.22). The following suggestions were extracted from the grassroots level investigations viz., attending timely training and awareness programs regarding cyclones, constructions of pucca houses to protect from heavy wind and rain, cultivation of early verities of paddy crops and vegetables, constructing permanent drainage systems, reforestation and afforestation of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, chlorination of drinking water after the cyclone and use of battery operated gadgets to save life post cyclones.