Chamhuri Siwar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Chamhuri Siwar

Journal of Coastal Life Medicine, 2014

Bangladesh, Community based-management, Floodplain, Water productivity Objective: To measure the ... more Bangladesh, Community based-management, Floodplain, Water productivity Objective: To measure the productivity of water on the floodplain land in terms of fisheries and living aquatic resources based on two floodplain beels in Bangladesh. Methods: Among two beels, beel Mail is practicing community based fish culture management, and beel Chandpur is open access and improperly managed. The production and market price data of fish, snail, and aquatic plants were collected by direct observation based on 30 samples fishers in the year 2006-2007. This study also collected production related water quality data, such as water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. Results: The water quality data are found within the normal range. Net aggregated water productivity values based on production costs were TK 8 016.23 ha-1 and TK 3 912.9 ha-1 and based on all cost TK 7 160.97 ha-1 and TK 3 741.13 ha-1 at beel Mail and beel Chandpur, respectively. The contribution of fish, snails and aquatic resources were 96.50%, 3.10%, and 0.40% of the gross aggregated water produced in beel Mail and 87.85%, 8.38%, and 3.77% in the beel Chandpur. The water productivity values in beel Mail are higher than in beel Chandpur due to the intervention of community based fish culture. Conclusions: The proper management and techniques of harvesting fish through appropriate number of fish fingerlings stocked, good quality of fish fingerlings, size of beel, good fencing and well defined embankment, etc. can help to improve the productivity of water in the beel areas.

Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture and the impacts are different in terms of areas, ... more Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture and the impacts are different in terms of areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate have been exerting strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture, which is apprehended to result in shortages of water and other resources for long term, worsening soil condition, disease and pest outbreaks on crops and livestock, sea-level rise, and so on. Due to climate change, agricultural productivity and profitability is declining. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy, area of paddy plantation is decreasing and the adaption practices are ineffective. As climate change is universal and its existence is indefinite, the farmers need to adapt to and find ways to mitigate the damages of climatic variation in order to sustain agricultural productivity and attain food security for them.

The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. For the farmers to adapt with the cha... more The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. For the farmers to adapt with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several supports. But still there is a gap between farmers' adaptability with climate change and current level of supports. This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, and percentile analysis to measure the level of farmers' adaptability to climate change as a result of the various existing supports and encouragements provided by the government and other external agencies, and new supports expected by farmers. The data were collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia. The study found that among current types of supports provided by different agencies, only farmers' accessibility in the market is statistically significant for influencing their current adaptability to climatic changes. Though 58.6% of the farmers agree that government supports are enough to cope properly with climate change, 12.1% of farmers are not able to cope with climate change with the current level of supports. Farmers' expectations of several new supports has no statistically significant influences on their current adaptability with climatic changes, but their priority ranking for these expected supports will help policymakers to determine the future supports for climatic change adaptation for agriculture sustainability and livelihood sustainability under adverse climatic changes scenarios, especially for Malaysia.

Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for... more Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for paddy production is gradually decreasing. As a consequence, it is critically important to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers and their linkage with agricultural productivity to ensure the sustainability of paddy farms as well as farmers' livelihood. This study analyses the relationships between the paddy yields and the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia. The data was collected through a survey. To analyse the data, this study conducted cross-sectional multiple OLS regressions. The findings of the study revealed that several socioeconomic and physical characteristics had significant effects on paddy productivity in Malaysia. Based on the findings, some policy recommendations and action plans have been proposed focusing on paddy productivity and socioeconomic sustainability of the livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the policymakers and relevant agencies.

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Nov 24, 2011

The climatic factors in Malaysia have been changing very rapidly affecting agricultural productiv... more The climatic factors in Malaysia have been changing very rapidly affecting agricultural productivity and farmers' sustainable livelihood. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation farmers are trying in various ways to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities. This study analyses paddy farmers' perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and focuses on the techniques they use to adapt to the situation. It uses primary data collected through a questionnaire survey on the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor in Malaysia. Through a descriptive analysis of the data, the study finds that most farmers do not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers' adaptation practices to the climatic vulnerability are mostly based on their common sense responses. It suggests that farmers need necessary training and support from the government and international agencies to make them able to effectively adapt to the climatic vulnerability and avert any adverse effect on their socioeconomic sustainability and national food security.

Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and foo... more Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions and areas within a country. This study is an effort to empirically investigate theses issues for Malaysia using both primary and secondary data collected from and relevant to the Integrated Agriculture Development Areas in the Northwest Selangor. The results reveal that climate change phenomenon such as natural disaster, drought, flood, pest attack, plant disease, and changing the time of crop cycle have adversely been impacting Malaysian agriculture and its productivity as well as profitability. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy as well as permission only for paddy production, the paddy planting area is decreasing as the agricultural farmers often experience adverse impacts of climatic variation. So, climate change phenomenon is also...

International migration is one of the key components of local economic development in a labour se... more International migration is one of the key components of local economic development in a labour sending country. The returns of migration and remittances play a significant role in the economic development and growth of the source country. The remittance causes a positive Balance of Payment as well as poverty reduction in Bangladesh. These international migrations also have impacts on micro economic issues like local and household economy, which have received very little attention in existing studies. Therefore, to check the issue, this study collected primary data based on a questionnaire survey from 306 Bangladesh workers who are engaged in wage-earning employment in Malaysia during the period of Nov-Dec 2010. This study analysed the data based on the Path Measurement Model. This empirical study found that international migration significantly improves the micro economy of Bangladesh such as house ownership, improvement of economic conditions, donation towards local institutes and ...

Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic fact... more Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic factors. The climatic factors as well as other factors that are determined by climate cause vulnerability of agriculture and agricultural production. Using a survey method this study aims to determine the impacts of climatic change on agricultural vulnerability in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), West Selangor, Malaysia. Results suggest that over the last 5 years vulnerability of the factors like, injurious insects, high temperature, soil fertility loss, and cost of input materials increased greatly due to climatic changes; and the vulnerability of the factors like shortage of rainfall, excessive rainfall, and labor scarcity increased moderately during this period. It is projected that due to climate change agricultural production sustainability will become vulnerable in Malaysia by 2020

The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on ... more The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation, farmers are trying in various ways and government and other external agencies are providing several supports to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities. However, there is still a gap between farmers’ adaptability and climate change. This study analyses paddy farmers’ perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and relevant supports and techniques to adapt to the situation. The data were collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, percentile, and scale analysis. The study finds that most farmers do not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers’ adaptation p...

The issues of climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia are found to ha... more The issues of climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia are found to have been connected one with other in an interesting and circular way. The quantitative determination of the linkages between these three factors is certainly a difficult task, which is beyond the scope of the present study. This study is thus primarily aimed at reviewing the linkages between climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia. Some issues requiring further investigation in order to clearly understand the linkages between climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty have been suggested. These have been developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the development and implementation of social policy, programmes and practices relevant to these three issues. The study closes with some concluding remarks

Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricul... more Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricultural land are also gradually decreasing. Even within the total agricultural area, most of the land has been used for industrial crops, and the ratio between industrial crops and food crops is increasing. Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but as a low rate of productivity, farmers are engaged on part time basis. Therefore, it seems necessary to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers, their livelihood, and agricultural sustainability for policy implementation and its evaluation. This study analyzes the current profile of the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia based on primary data. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey. Findings of the study suggest policy recommendations and action plans for the improvement of the farmers’ livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the...

The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is... more The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is very crucial to ensure food security, employment generation, socioeconomic improvement, economic growth, poverty reduction and overall achievement of vision 2020. The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) represents 34% of total national agricultural area, which has a good potentiality to improve productivity and reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, Malaysian government has taken a large development project in the ECER region in 2006, but much is not known about the project due to limited number of study and unavailability of official performance report of the project. Hence this study is an attempt to explore one of the niche areas, which is agricultural crops sector. The major initiatives of agricultural crops sector include establishing three agro valleys as major vegetable and short-term crop growing areas. These involve organized modern farming methods in a sustainable manner to improve efficiency and productivity of agricultural production of paddy, vegetables and fruits. The prospects of the project are also very much anticipative, because the size of domestic market has grown in recent years. But there are lots of challenges to meet the target of the project. Institutional supports, physical infrastructural supports like transportations, irrigations and preservation facilities are not adequate in this area. To meet the target and to ensure the success of the projects, some more initiatives for improvements and proper management are also necessary. These include, for example, farmer's cooperative or institutional involvement for marketing the crops, financial supports and subsidies, cooperation among agents and departments, training to avoid environment degradations and adaptation techniques to cope with adverse effects of climatic changes, etc. It is expected that the relevant government authority and agencies, especially the ECER project authority, will be highly benefited from the findings of the study.

Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2014

Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture that differ among the areas, periods and crops. T... more Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture that differ among the areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate, especially rainfall and temperature, have been causing very strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture. Projection shows that the gap between current and potential yields will increase more in future that would lead to an unsustainable nature of agriculture in Malaysia. Based on the time series linear and log linear OLS regression model, this paper discusses the impacts of rainfall and temperature on the paddy sector by using the micro data of IADA at North West Selangor, Malaysia from 1992 to 2007. This study found that the output of micro data varies with the aggregate data and concludes that both temperature and rainfall have significant negative impacts on paddy production. It also provides policy recommendations and action plans to adapt and to cope properly with the changing nature of climate factors.

Malaysia has seen a high rate of economic growth in past couple of decades hand in hand with an e... more Malaysia has seen a high rate of economic growth in past couple of decades hand in hand with an ever increasing size of population. As a consequence, the issue of sustainable waste management has become an important priority for policymakers and other stakeholders of the society. Although there are potentials to recycle up to 80 per cent of the total dry wastes collected, currently most of them are deposited into various landfill sites. Waste treatment facilities are also insufficient in the country. The government has introduced SWM Act 2007 along with other initiatives to improve the waste management scenario, but more needs to be done to be able to recycle and treat a major portion of the wastes. Based on studies on the state of Selangor in Malaysia, this paper this paper attempts to analyse the waste management scenario of Malaysia and the problems and prospects of waste recycling there. The paper will help the policy makers, waste management strategists, local administrators an...

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2017

Purpose Sustainable food security at the household level is one of the emerging issues for all na... more Purpose Sustainable food security at the household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. Several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural and livelihood strategies cause vulnerability in the status of household food security. This study aims to examine the vulnerability of the factors of household food accessibility and its linkage with the climatic changes in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July-October, 2012, through a questionnaire survey on 460 low-income households from the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on the cluster random sampling technique. The questionnaire uses a five-point Likert scale, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA F statistics for chi-square two-sample test. Findings The study finds that the vulnerability of the factors of household food acce...

Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 2011

Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for... more Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for paddy production is gradually decreasing. As a consequence, it is critically important to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers and their linkage with agricultural productivity to ensure the sustainability of paddy farms as well as farmers' livelihood. This study analyses the relationships between the paddy yields and the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia. The data was collected through a survey. To analyse the data, this study conducted cross-sectional multiple OLS regressions. The findings of the study revealed that several socioeconomic and physical characteristics had significant effects on paddy productivity in Malaysia. Based on the findings, some policy recommendations and action plans have been proposed focusing on paddy productivity in relation to the socioeconomic sustainability of the livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the policymakers and relevant agencies.

Journal of Economic Studies, 2016

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect impacts of climatic cha... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect impacts of climatic changes as well as the effects of non-climatic factors on household food security in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July – October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low-income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) of the country. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The statistical estimation was done through two-stage formative path measurement model by using non-parametric bootstrap procedure under Smart PLS. Findings – This study finds that household food insecurity ECER – Malaysia is not only related to social and economic factors, but also statistically significantly linked to the direct and indirect impacts of climatic factors. The policy implications of the study suggest that design of food security programs must be integr...

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2016

Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There... more Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of the status of household food security. Therefore examining the vulnerability of these factors is essential to identify the reason and recognize the most vulnerable communities. This study is an attempt to study on the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability and its linkage with climatic changes in Malaysia. The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July-October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The study found that the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability has decreased statistically significantly over the last five years period in Malaysia for the factors of effectiveness of food distribution process, road and transportation facility for food distribution process, availability of expected food in the local market, sufficiency of expected food in the local market, and stability of food supply in market. The mean values of the current status of the factors of household food availability differ significantly at 1% significance level from the scenario of 5 years ago. However, most of the cases climatic issues were found less responsible for the changes of these factors. Though Malaysia is adversely affected by climatic change, the factors of food availability are not affected yet remarkably. This study suggests that the food security programs need to be integrated with climatic change adaptation programs to ensure more effective and sustainable household food security in future, especially among the poor and low income group. Moreover, a proper monitoring agency is required to ensure consistent supply of food in the rural and remote areas, especially at the time of natural calamity or off season.

Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, 2015

This research, conducted to analyze the level of food security among poor and low‐income househol... more This research, conducted to analyze the level of food security among poor and low‐income households in the east coast economic region of Malaysia, uses primary data of 460 families from the E‐Kasih poor households database, based on a cluster random sampling technique. Food security levels were measured using the United States Agency for International Development Household Food Insecurity Access model. Findings indicate that 52.8% of households are food secure, 23.3% mildly food insecure, 14.3% moderately food insecure, and 9.6% are severely food insecure. These findings are very important to assist policymakers to achieve Vision 2020 and the targets of Malaysian National Plans regarding food security, socioeconomic development, and the alleviation of poverty. The involvement of private sector and community‐based organizations are important to combat short run, seasonal, and event‐related risks, as well as for the development of appropriate mitigation and adaptation options to ensur...

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2015

International Human Capital migration is one of the key components of micro economic development ... more International Human Capital migration is one of the key components of micro economic development in a labour supplying country. The returns of migration play a significant role in the economic development and growth of the source country. The remittance causes a positive Balance of Payment as well as poverty eradication in Bangladesh. These Human Capital migrations also have impacts on micro economic issues like local and household economy, which have received very little attention in existing studies. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impacts of international labour migration on local economic development. Therefore, to check the issue, this study collected primary data based on a questionnaire survey from 306 Bangladeshi workers who are engaged in wage-earning employment in Malaysia during the period of Nov-Dec 2010. This study analysed the data based on the Path Measurement Model. This empirical study found that international Human Capital migration significantly improves the local and household economy of Bangladesh such as house ownership, improvement of economic conditions, donation towards local institutes and infrastructure, new work experience, new skills, and poverty reduction. Some initiatives such as communication skills, maintaining and improving economic diplomacy and discouraging the Hundi System (Illegal remittance transfer system) are suggested to improve these rising consequences of international migration in Bangladesh.

Journal of Coastal Life Medicine, 2014

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Nov 24, 2011

Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2014

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2017

Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 2011

Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for... more Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but due to a low rate of productivity, the land area for paddy production is gradually decreasing. As a consequence, it is critically important to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers and their linkage with agricultural productivity to ensure the sustainability of paddy farms as well as farmers' livelihood. This study analyses the relationships between the paddy yields and the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia. The data was collected through a survey. To analyse the data, this study conducted cross-sectional multiple OLS regressions. The findings of the study revealed that several socioeconomic and physical characteristics had significant effects on paddy productivity in Malaysia. Based on the findings, some policy recommendations and action plans have been proposed focusing on paddy productivity in relation to the socioeconomic sustainability of the livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the policymakers and relevant agencies.

Journal of Economic Studies, 2016

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2016

Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, 2015

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2015

There are three million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas in Bangladesh which remain inun... more There are three million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas in Bangladesh which remain inundated for four to six months each year during rainy season and render the land unavailable for crop production. This generates the opportunity for managing these waterbodies with community based approaches for conservation and propagation of existing and potential aquatic resources and thereby to enhance water productivity (WP). It also promotes food security and provides additional income to stakeholders involved especially for the poor. Information on WP values, achieved from water uses and water resources, will help to implement effective and concerted management actions to enhance the benefits to the people from these floodplain areas as an integral part of approaches to improving WP. The study has been conducted with objectives of assessing water productivity (WP) of seasonal floodplain waterbodies of Bangladesh and examining the impact of alternative rice fish culture in these deep flooded waterbodies with community based fisheries management approach (CBFM). To attain these objectives, alternating rice-fish culture was introduced in a deep flooded waterbody and results have been compared with that of another waterbody with similar agro ecological environment. Aquatic and terrestrial environmental framework and water accounting framework have been used for assessing WP by aquatic resources and dry season’s boro rice crop, respectively. A range of variables including biophysical (water quality), agricultural (input cost, irrigation water volume, crop yield, fish culture, wild fish catch) and socioeconomic (income, fish consumption, fishing activity) variables have been monitored in both the control and study site. WP by net return on the basis of production cost of aquatic resources is TK 3913 ha-1 of waterbody and dry season’s rice crop including by product is TK 2.87±0.085 m-3 of irrigation water in control site. WP by aquatic resources on the basis of production cost is TK 8016 ha-1 waterbody and dry season’s rice crop including by product is TK 3.42±0.243 m-3 of irrigation water in study site. Results show that net yield of stocked fish per hectare waterbody is 7.53 times higher in study site than in control site due to the intervention of CBFM approach without reducing the wild fish catch. However during dry season, yield of boro rice was estimated to be 1.09 times higher per cubic meter of irrigation water use in study area than control site due to better yield of boro rice crop with less irrigation water requirement. Net WP based on production cost was 1.19 times higher due to the reduction of input cost specially land preparation cost. It has also been observed that CBFM incurs additional income and increases fish consumption for both landowners and landless fishers. So it is evident from the study that alternating rice fish culture in seasonal floodplain area can reduce water use conflict between crops and aquaculture in Bangladesh. If communities are strengthened to overcome obstacles in resource management with effective fundamental and financial supports, community based aquatic resource management approach can serve as a useful tool for increasing WP by enhancing water use efficiency and thus can contribute to current food demand and future food security.

The impacts of both climate change and agricultural practice in Malaysia are generally seen to ha... more The impacts of both climate change and agricultural practice in Malaysia are generally seen to have been connected one with other in an interesting and circular way. The depth of the impacts of the both is certainly difficult to measure as it might require a comparative benefit-cost analysis, which is beyond the scope of the present study. This study is primarily aimed at reviewing the impacts of climate change on Malaysian agricultural sustainability and poverty. Analysis of the study has thus been developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the climate change and current agricultural practice and policy. The study reveals that climate change is a major threat for attaining agricultural sustainability in Malaysia as it continuously changes and affects the agriculture in diversified ways. Therefore, good measurement of its impacts on sustainable agriculture is needed to ensure long run agricultural sustainability in Malaysia.

Field of Research: Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Agricultural Economics

Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There... more Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of the status of household food security. Therefore examining the vulnerability of these factors is essential to identify the reason and recognize the most vulnerable communities. This study is an attempt to study on the vulnerability of the factors of household food utilization and its linkage with climatic changes in Malaysia. The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July – October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The study found that the vulnerability of the factors of household food utilization has increased statistically significantly over the last five years period due to difference between rural and city food quality, occurrences of natural disasters, incidences of mosquitoes, insects, pest, etc., and diseases like dengue, malaria, heat stretch, cold, skin disease, etc. This study suggests that the food security programs need to be integrated with climatic change adaptation programs to ensure more effective and sustainable household food security in future, especially among the poor and low income group.

Keywords: Climatic Changes, Household Food Security, Food Utilization; Vulnerability, Poverty

Reference: Alam, M.M., Siwar, C., Talib, B., and Wahid, A.N.M. 2016. Climatic Changes and Vulnerability of Household Food Utilization in Malaysian East Coast Economic Region. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Development and Management, International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct 8-9.

The changing natures of climate factors have different impacts on agriculture based on the areas,... more The changing natures of climate factors have different impacts on agriculture based on the areas, periods and crops. In case of Malaysia, climatic changes have adverse impacts on agriculture. Due to climate change here agricultural productivity and profitability is declining. The farmers are the most vulnerable group who are affected both directly and indirectly through the changes of climate. Here income of the farmers is decreasing and government subsidy is increasing due to low productivity of agriculture. As a combined effect, the income inequality among the farmers is increasing. Moreover, climatic changes cause to increase sickness and health hazards of farmers. As a result, farmers’ involvement with agriculture is decreasing. To determine the impacts of climate change on farmers, this study relies on a survey conducted on farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), West Selangor, Malaysia. While analyzing the impacts of climate change on farmers, this paper also provides policy recommendations and action plans to cope properly with climate change.

Key words: Climate Change; Income Equality, Health Hazard; Agriculture; Paddy; Malaysia

Management of Environmental Quality, 2018

Purpose: Sustainable food security at the household level is one of the emerging issues for all n... more Purpose: Sustainable food security at the household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. It is expected that the patterns of household resilience factors and adaptation practices have a strong linkage with household food security. The aim of this study was to seek an effective technique of adaptation for food security and the required types of support for adaptation to food insecurity among the poor and low income households in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach: This study was based on primary data that were collected in Jul-Oct 2012 through a questionnaire survey among 460 poor and low income households from the Pahang, Kelantan, and Terengganu states of Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database based on a two-stage cluster random sampling technique. The study considered household food security as household food availability and food accessibility, and ran ordinal regressions to find out the linkages of household food security with household resilience factors, adaptation practices, and expected support for adaptation to food security.
Findings: The study concludes that several resilience factors and adaptation practices were statistically significant to household food security, and several external supports were statistically and significantly needed to ensure household food security. Therefore, to ensure sustainable household food security in Malaysia, the food security programs needs to be integrated with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climatic changes adaptation programs, and the involvement of relevant stakeholders are crucial.
Originality/value: This study is a pioneer work based on primary data that empirically measured the linkages of household food security with household resilience factors, adaptation practices, and expected support for adaptation to food security in Malaysia. This study also discussed some issues related to the climate change linkage, which would help future climate change research. The findings of the study will be beneficial for all the stakeholders, including policy makers related to the food security and climate change adaptation.

Mitigation and Adaptation for Global Change, Vol. 17(4), pp. 415-423, 2012. (ISSN 1381-2386; Publisher- Springer)

The climatic factors in Malaysia have been changing very rapidly affecting agricultural productiv... more The climatic factors in Malaysia have been changing very rapidly affecting agricultural productivity and farmers’ sustainable livelihood. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation farmers are trying in various ways to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities. This study analyses paddy farmers’ perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and focuses on the techniques they use to adapt to the situation. It uses primary data collected through a questionnaire survey on the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor in Malaysia. Through a descriptive analysis of the data, the study finds that most farmers do not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers’ adaptation practices to the climatic vulnerability are mostly based on their common sense responses. It suggests that farmers need necessary training and support from the government and international agencies to make them able to effectively adapt to the climatic vulnerability and avert any adverse effect on their socioeconomic sustainability and national food security.

Key words: Agricultural Sustainability; Climate Change; Climatic Vulnerability; Adaptation Technique; Farmer; Paddy; Malaysia

The Journal of Environment & Development, 2007

This study uses a contingent valuation method and multiple linear regression techniques to determ... more This study uses a contingent valuation method and multiple linear regression techniques to determine the factors that could affect the willingness to pay for solid waste collection and disposal services of householders residing in the squatter and low-cost flats in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of the main problems experienced by many developing nations is the lack of service provisions, particularly in the lowincome areas. Because such conditions adversely affect the quality of life of the poor, local stakeholders' participation in social and environmental activities is necessary to resolve such socially undermining and environmentally degrading problems. In fact, tackling such a problem would require massive investment schemes by local governments. However, the governments of developing nations usually suffer from heavily burdened and stretched financial and economic resources and a high opportunity cost of funds. Therefore, society's participation is logically and realistically needed for widening infrastructure and environmental service provisions.

This study is an effort to justify an emergence to develop an appraisal system for agricultural p... more This study is an effort to justify an emergence to develop an appraisal system for agricultural practices in Malaysia. The idea has come from the fact that although the policies for promoting Malaysia's agriculture sector towards sustainability were endorsed in 1998, but some agricultural practices in the country are found to be connected with environmental problems. Advanced quantitative analytical tools such as stationary tests and least squares estimations have been employed to attain the study objective and justify our arguments. The results, however, reveal that agricultural practices in Malaysia have been connected, to some extent, with environmental problems in the country. An increase in fertilizer consumption has been found to be positively connected with both agricultural production index and food production index for the country. The study also found that the contribution of Malaysian agriculture in terms of its value added to the national economy is certainly creditable, but this could have been connected with environmental problems on a greater scale. The results further reveal that an increase in the area of arable and permanent crops has also been associated with higher agricultural production index and food production index for the country. While most agricultural practices in Malaysia are observed to have been generally compatible with the standards of sustainable agriculture, an emergence still arises for the country to develop an appraisal system for monitoring its current agricultural practices. It is expected that the development of such an appraisal system will enable Malaysia to transform its agriculture into sustainable in which agricultural resources will not be exploited and environmental degradation will be absent.

Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic fact... more Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic factors. The climatic factors as well as other factors that are determined by climate cause vulnerability of agriculture and agricultural production.. Using a survey method this study aims to determine the impacts of climatic change on agricultural vulnerability in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), West Selangor, Malaysia. Results suggest that over the last 5 years vulnerability of the factors like, injurious insects, high temperature, soil fertility loss, and cost of input materials increased greatly due to climatic changes; and the vulnerability of the factors like shortage of rainfall, excessive rainfall, and labor scarcity increased moderately during this period. It is projected that due to climate change agricultural production sustainability will become vulnerable in Malaysia by 2020.

Key words: Climate Change; Vulnerability; Agricultural Sustainability; Paddy; Malaysia

Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricul... more Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricultural land are also gradually decreasing. Even within the total agricultural area, most of the land has been used for industrial crops, and the ratio between industrial crops and food crops is increasing. Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but as a low rate of productivity, farmers are engaged on part time basis. Therefore, it seems necessary to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers, their livelihood, and agricultural sustainability for policy implementation and its evaluation. This study analyzes the current profile of the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia based on primary data. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey. Findings of the study suggest policy recommendations and action plans for the improvement of the farmers’ livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the policy makers and relevant agencies.

Key words: Land ownership; Crop choice; Yield; Machinery; Dependency ratio; Paddy; Malaysia

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2016

Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There... more Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of the status of household food security. Therefore examining the vulnerability of these factors is essential to identify the reason and recognize the most vulnerable communities. This study is an attempt to study on the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability and its linkage with climatic changes in Malaysia. The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July – October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The study found that the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability has decreased statistically significantly over the last five years period in Malaysia for the factors of effectiveness of food distribution process, road and transportation facility for food distribution process, availability of expected food in the local market, sufficiency of expected food in the local market, and stability of food supply in market. The mean values of the current status of the factors of household food availability differ significantly at 1% significance level from the scenario of 5 years ago. However, most of the cases climatic issues were found less responsible for the changes of these factors. Though Malaysia is adversely affected by climatic change, the factors of food availability are not affected yet remarkably. This study suggests that the food security programs need to be integrated with climatic change adaptation programs to ensure more effective and sustainable household food security in future, especially among the poor and low income group. Moreover, a proper monitoring agency is required to ensure consistent supply of food in the rural and remote areas, especially at the time of natural calamity or off season.

Journal of Applied Sciences, 2007

Journal of Applied Sciences 7 (22): 3356-3367, 2007 ISSN 1812-5654 © 2007 Asian Network for Scien... more Journal of Applied Sciences 7 (22): 3356-3367, 2007 ISSN 1812-5654 © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information Know ledge, Attitude and Behavior of the Urban Poor Concerning Solid Waste Management: A Case Study Md. Wahid Murad and Chamhuri Siwar Faculty of ...