Adaptation to climate change risks among dairy farmers in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change is a complex process and requires sound understanding of how climatic changes are perceived and interpreted at local level by dairy farmers. This study is therefore designed to investigate the climatic risk perception, risk attitude, determinants of adaptation measures/strategies and constraints faced by the dairy farmers. The present study is among the pioneering studies considering dairy sector in developing countries in general and Pakistan in particular. A well-structured questionnaire was used to interview 450 dairy households from three agro-ecological zones of Punjab province of Pakistan. The study employed binary logit models to determine the influence of climate risk perception, risk attitude and other factors on adaptation decision of farmers. The findings of study revealed that climatic risk perception and risk tolerant nature of farmers positively influenced the use of adaptation measures such as selling of weak/diseased animals, migration, off-farm income activities and changes in cropping pattern, while risk averse behavior had negative impact on adaptation decisions. Among other determinants, education, farming experience, number of dairy animals, access to extension/veterinary officer and access to credit facilities has positive and significant influence on adaptation to climate change. Study also identified major constraints (socio-psychological, economic, technical, infrastructural/institutional and communicational) preventing dairy farmers to adopt adaptation measures against climatic risks. The study posits important policy measures.