Farmers’ adaptation strategies to drought and their determinants in barind tract, Bangladesh (original) (raw)
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IDRiM Journal
Drought is a reoccurring phenomenon which is considered as one of the topmost slow-onset disasters in the central Barind Tract of northwestern Bangladesh. Due to the consequences of drought, agriculture of this area is highly impacted as well as the farmers fall in multidimensional livelihoods disruption. The objective of the paper is to investigate the existing adaptive measures practicing by farmers to combat adverse impacts of agricultural drought in two representative drought-prone locations of Rajshahi District of Bangladesh. The present study is mainly based on semi-structured household questionnaire survey. Eventually, the survey was conducted in 2019 among 303 households out of 1421 by using Kothari (2004) sampling formula considering 95% significance level and samples are determined through simple random sampling. Both descriptive and inferential statistics are used to analyze the adoption options of the cultivators of the study areas from geographical perspectives. It is f...
Natural Hazards, 2016
The northwestern part of Bangladesh especially the Barind region is considered as a drought-prone area. The objective of this paper is to find out the adaptation measures practised by farmers to cope with climate change and agricultural drought in two droughtprone villages of the northwestern Bangladesh. The primary data for this study were collected from a structured questionnaire survey conducted on 130 households selected from 192 through simple random sampling. The present study finds that agriculture of this area is recurrently disrupted by frequent drought events. Moreover, the climate change will increase both frequency and magnitude of extreme drought events in this region. This paper identifies that the impacts of drought on agriculture are difficulties in irrigation, disruption in cropping pattern, depletion of ground water table, problem in fish cultivation and so on. On the other hand, analyses unveil that respondents practised a range of adjustment strategies to combat adverse impacts of drought such as adoptions of droughttolerant crop varieties, rainwater harvesting, mango and jujube intercropping with rice, kitchen gardening, weed control and reducing water loss, constructing water control structures, irrigation and cultivation of fast-growing fish species. Therefore, the present study recommends proper drought early warning system, reserving surface water, managing supplemental irrigation, tree plantation, re-excavation of canals and traditional ponds, credit support to the farmers, preparedness and awareness rising to ensure the future sustainable agricultural development in the study areas.
Agricultural Water Management, 2015
Water scarcity and droughts pose serious threats to the livelihood of farming communities and the economy in many parts of the world. Using a survey of 546 farming households and employing multinomial logit regression, this study investigates rice farmers' adaptation to water scarcity in a semi-arid climate in Bangladesh. It identified factors determining farmers' adaptation responses to addressing water scarcity. The analysis shows that farmers with more experience of farming, better schooling, more secure tenure rights, better access to electricity and institutional facilities, and an awareness of climatic effects are more likely to adopt alternative adaptation strategies. Farmers' alternative adaptation choices are examined in comparison to the traditional approach of groundwater irrigation. This study raises issues of sustainability of agricultural adaptation practices in the context of an increasing dependence on groundwater irrigation. The results provide an insight to sustainable irrigation practices and an understanding of the characteristics of farms and farming households to frame better strategies to cope with water-stressed regimes in drought-prone environments.
Natural Hazards, 2019
Drought is a natural calamity frequently occurs at Barind Tract in northwest Bangladesh and affects both the human and natural life. An initiative has been taken to investigate the drought adaptation scenario practicing in Barind Tract as well as their effectiveness according to farmers' perception. This study is mainly based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire by surveying the farming households from ten unions of three districts in western Barind. Farmers' perception about the effectiveness of adaptation measures has been measured using a five-point Likert scale. An indexing formula is developed to rank those measures based on their effectiveness level. The study found that several numbers of adaptation measures are practicing in Barind Tract that can be grouped into two classes: (1) adaptation measures implemented by farmers and (2) adaptation measures implemented by the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA). Maximum measures implemented by farmers are mainly agriculture and economic activities oriented, although most of the farmers are not able to undertake proper adaptation measure by their own initiative due to lack of capacity. On the other hand, BMDA's adaptation approaches are mainly related to development of irrigation, livelihood, food security, and environmental protection. Most of these approaches are found effective, according to farmers' opinion. A few are found not effective mainly due to poor management and implementation. No linear relationship exists between socioeconomic characteristics of farmers and their perceptions regarding effectiveness of the measures. Exploitation of groundwater is found as the major challenge regarding future drought management. Surface water harvesting and lowering the dependency on groundwater might be the potential solution.
Determinants of drought risk coping mechanisms among the farmers of Northern region of Bangladesh
Journal of the Bangladesh Agricultural University, 2019
Drought is a major constraint on agricultural production and livelihood in the northwestern region of Bangladesh. An understanding of the effects of drought and farmers' coping mechanisms is essential in designing technological and policy interventions for effective drought mitigation. The current study investigates the impacts of drought, examines farmers' coping strategies for drought induced crop failure and the determinants of their mechanism choices by employing both quantitative and qualitative approach. Multiple data sources, including semi-structured interview survey with 218 randomly selected farmers; and four focus group discussions with farmers, local leaders, NGO workers, and government officials were used to capture various aspects of drought risks and coping practices. 'Multinomial logit' model was adopted to analyze the factors affecting the decision of coping strategies in response to drought. Results of farm household survey data indicates that the respondents experienced 3.15 droughts on an average in last five years which affected about 15 percent of their crop land and resulted more than 17 percent crop loss per year. Focus group discussions confirm that farmers followed various traditional ex ante and ex post coping strategies in order to avoid crop loss and minimize livelihood constraints. The coping mechanisms mostly adopted by farmers among others were borrowing money, cultivating less water consuming crops and cutting meals. Findings of multinomial logistic regression model reveal that the environment determinant of the choices of coping options was frequency of drought and main socioeconomic determinants of coping choices were crop loss due to drought and land holding systems.
Drought is an extreme and frequent event in the northwest region of Bangladesh and it adversely affects the livelihood of the farming community. Identifying the coping strategies that farmers use in the face of drought is crucial in order to understand how farmers minimize the effects of drought on their production, especially in the face of climatic changes that may impact the occurrence of extreme weather events. The purpose of this study was to assess farmers' coping strategies for droughts by identifying which strategies are used and the influencing factors. A mixed methods approach using qualitative and quantitative data was employed. Preliminary data were collected using structured interviews and focus group discussions in which the findings were triangulated in order to design a questionnaire. The study respondents were 100 farmers operating in northwest Bangladesh. The findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics, coefficient of correlation, multiple linear and step-wise regressions. The results reveal that the respondents have limited drought coping strategies, even though the region is prone to frequent droughts. Among the fourteen identified drought coping strategies, the use of deep tube wells for irrigation water was the most widely reported and the farmers perceived it as the most important coping strategy. Shallow tube wells closely followed as the second most commonly used coping strategy reported by the respondents. Among the identified coping strategies, the least practiced was the use of treadle pumps. The findings from the study showed that age, education, farm size, annual family income, extension media contact, and organization participation were significantly associated with the choice of coping strategy that the farmers employed. Additionally, farm size, age, and education were identified as influential factors that affected the farmers' choice of which drought coping strategies to use. The study identified important issues for policy makers engaged with governmental programs that aim to enhance the farmers' drought coping mechanisms. The methods employed and the results of this study could be usefully applied in other districts of Bangladesh, or other areas of the world suffering from the negative effects of drought on agricultural production.
2013
Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. The major environmental vulnerabilities viz. droughts, floods, flash floods, cyclone, salinity, tidal surges, water-logging, extreme temperature, low light intensity, fogginess, incidences of pests and diseases etc are affecting the agricultural production systems. Adaptation is important to limit the negative impacts of climate change. Majority of the people in vulnerable areas are involved in crop cultivation, homestead gardening and fishing but they remain frequently unemployed due to climate risks and other natural disasters resulting food insecurity. Present study was undertaken during 2012-13 under ARCAB to analyze the climate impacts on crop production systems and to suggest appropriate coping strategies and adaptation options for increased agricultural productions and better livelihood of the vulnerable people of Naogaon Sadar. Survey, FGDs, HHs and Stakeholders' Consultations were conduct...
Assessing the determinants of rice farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change in Bangladesh
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2013
Purpose: This paper examines rice farmers' selection of adaptation strategies to cope with and offset the effects of climate change and the determinants of those selections in Rajshahi, a severely drought-prone district of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: Farm level micro-data was obtained from 550 rice growers in the 2010-2011 farming season. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was utilised to assess the determinants of adaptation strategies practised by farmers in response to climate change. Findings: Results from the MNL model indicate that gender, age, education of household heads, household assets, annual farm income, farm size, tenure status, farmer-to-farmer extension, access to credit, access to subsidy, and access to electricity, all affect farmers' selection of adaptation strategies for climate change. Originality/value: This is the first study of its kind to analyse the determinants of adaptation strategies for climate change by farmers in drought-prone areas of Bangladesh. This study provides direction for policy makers in order to strengthen the adaptation strategies of farmers and guide policies accordingly. These strategies have the potential to minimise the adverse effects of climate change.
Climate, 2014
Offering a case study of coastal Bangladesh, this study examines the adaptation of agriculturalists to degrading environmental conditions likely to be caused or exacerbated under global climate change. It examines four central components: (1) the rate of self-reported adoption of adaptive mechanisms (coping strategies) as a result of changes in climate; (2) ranking the potential coping strategies based on their perceived importance to agricultural enterprises; (3) identification the socioeconomic factors associated with adoption of coping strategies, and (4) ranking potential constraints to adoption of coping strategies based on farmers' reporting on the degree to which they face these constraints. As a preliminary matter, this paper also reports on the perceptions of farmers in the study about their experiences with climatic change. The research area is comprised of three villages in the coastal region (Sathkhira district), a geographic region which climate change literature has highlighted as prone to accelerated degradation. One-hundred (100) farmers participated in the project's survey, from which the data was used to calculate weighted indexes for rankings and to perform logistic regression. The rankings, model results, and descriptive OPEN ACCESS Climate 2014, 2 224 statistics, are reported here. Results showed that a majority of the farmers self-identified as having engaged in adaptive behavior. Out of 14 adaptation strategies, irrigation ranked first among farm adaptive measures, while crop insurance has ranked as least utilized. The logit model explained that out of eight factors surveyed, age, education, family size, farm size, family income, and involvement in cooperatives were significantly related to self-reported adaptation. Despite different support and technological interventions being available, lack of available water, shortage of cultivable land, and unpredictable weather ranked highest as the respondent group's constraints to coping with environmental degradation and change effects. These results provide policy makers and development service providers with important insight, which can be used to better target interventions which build promote or facilitate the adoption of coping mechanisms with potential to build resiliency to changing climate and resulting environmental impacts.
Environment and Ecology Research, 2023
Bangladesh’s environment and climate have changed a lot and Bangladesh has converted as the most exposed country. This vulnerability is exposed in adverse way in Bangladesh due to magnitude of changing climate. It can be said that for national food security, respective agricultural household should adapt to climate change. A large portion of inhabitants of Bangladesh are dependent on agriculture for their needs, living, income and maintenance, and most importantly economic growth also depends on agriculture. To adapt to climate vulnerability, farmers may face many challenges. In this regard, the first motto was to perceive the level of challenges faced in agriculture such as unpredictable weather, excess cost of inputs, restricted access to agricultural markets, etc. during production. For fulfilling this specific objective, adoption of resilience indices to agriculture were developed. Those adoption resilience indices were making hurdles for farmer’s livelihood and adjustment due to climate change. The adoption resilience indices were calculated through the principal confrontation matrix, and it was found that “unpredictable weather” ranked as number one followed by the high cost of farm inputs. Another objective of this exploration was to explore how those adaptation resilience indices affect farmers’ enthusiasm for their adaptation. To fulfil this objective, the ordered logit model had been used using 378 boro cultivator’s data which were collected from selected ‘haor’ (lowland) in Sylhet. The results show that the two variables namely “Changed in crop varieties” and “Changed crop to livestock” had a positive impact on the farmers’ adapting strategies for changing climate. That means, those farmers were easily motivated to change their crop varieties and preferred rearing livestock during flood.