Farmers’ Perception on Climate Change: A Study in Tarai Region of Uttarakhand

Abstract

Climate change has emerged as a potent threat disrupting the development process and is hurting several sectors of Indian economy, especially the agriculture sector. Knowledge about these disruptive factors can enable the farmers to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on agriculture. Therefore, the understanding of location-specific farmers’ perceptions and their adaptive behaviors can provide a better insight to design appropriate policy measures and guidelines to address these challenges effectively. The present study was aimed at determining farmers’ perceptions about climate change on agriculture. The study sample comprised 180 farmers selected using simple random sampling. The findings indicate that all the farmers (100%) were aware of climate change. All of them reported “increase in temperature” and “erratic rainfall” and “shortening of winter season” as the major indicators of climate change as experienced by them. Besides, 85.55 percent famers reported that “peak time of winter” has changed in Uttarakhand, a hilly state. Such perceptions about climate change can be seen as a precursor mediating the adoption of recommended practices and adaptation measures. Thus, the results of the study will enlighten the policy makers and agriculture scientists in preparing a roadmap for policy formulation regarding adaptation measures (short run initiatives) as well as undertaking mitigation measures (long run initiatives) of climate change besides helping the agriculture extension agencies to design and plan locale-specific adaptation strategies and agriculture development programs.