Farm-Level Adaptation to Climate Change and Impacts on Household Food Security: Evidence from the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Climate change can have detrimental impacts on rural agricultural households. Farmers all over Sri Lanka are seen adopting numerous strategies to face the impacts of climate change. Climate change poses considerable challenges to all four dimensions of food security. Therefore, this study aims to explore climate related factors affecting the level of household food security of rural farmers. The study was conducted with 110 farmer families in the district of Anuradhapura. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire-based survey over a period of four months along with field observations. An ordered logistic regression was carried out in order to find out the influence of climate change adaptation and other related factors at farm-level on the household food security. Household food insecurity access scale was used to categorize the sample into different levels of food security. Results show that farmers who adopted climate change strategies are more food secure compared to those who did not adapt. Exposure to climate change and strong social networks also have a positive influence in leading these households to a higher level of food security. Certain socio-demographic factors such as the farmer's level of education and being a male-headed household were also positively associated with food security. The study therefore emphasizes the importance of stronger policies that can enhance farmer adaptation strategies through better accessibility to endowments such as alternative livelihoods, stronger social networks, awareness and better education for agricultural households.