Abstract
PurposeIncreasing trends of climatic risk pose challenges to the food security and livelihoods of smallholders in vulnerable regions, where farmers often face loss of the entire crop, pushing farmers (mostly men) out of agriculture in destitution, creating a situation of agricultural making agriculture highly feminization and compelling male farmers to out-migrate. Climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) are promoted to cope with climatic risks. This study aims to assess how knowledge related to CSAPs, male out-migration, education and income contribute to the determinants of male out-migration and CSAPs adoption and how they respond to household food security.Design/methodology/approachSex-disaggregated primary data were collected from adopter and non-adopter farm families. STATA 13.1 was used to perform principle component analysis to construct knowledge, yield and income indices.FindingsYield and income index of adopters was higher for men than women. The probability of out-migration reduced by 21% with adoption of CSAPs. An increase in female literacy by 1 unit reduces log of odds to migrate by 0.37. With every unit increase in knowledge index, increase in log-odds of CSAPs adoption was 1.57. Male:female knowledge gap was less among adopters. Non-adopters tended to reduce food consumption when faced with climatic risks significantly, and the probability of migration increased by 50% with a one-unit fall in the nutrition level, thus compelling women to work more in agriculture. Gender-equitable enhancement of CSAP knowledge is, therefore, key to safeguarding sustainable farming systems and improving livelihoods.Social implicationsThe enhancement of gender equitable knowledge on CSAPs is key to safeguard sustainable farming systems and improved livelihoods.Originality/valueThis study is based on the robust data sets of 100 each of male and female from 100 households (n = 200) using well-designed and validated survey instrument. From 10 randomly selected climate-smart villages in Samastipur and Vaishali districts of Bihar, India, together with focus group discussions, the primary data were collected by interviewing both men and women from the same household.
Highlights
Climatic risk because of extreme weather events variability is one of the most critical factors affecting agricultural production
Our analysis shows that the adoption of Climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) can reduce the probability of migrating by 21%, whereas women’s literacy reduces migration
Another study conducted in India observes the potential of CSAPs to reduce women’s labor drudgery (Gartaula et al, 2020), indicating that adopters of CSAPs tend to be less affected by climatic risks
Summary
Climatic risk because of extreme weather events variability is one of the most critical factors affecting agricultural production. Weather-related risks in India such as heat waves, cold snaps, droughts and floods have become the norm because of their increasing occurrence during the recent past. This is evident from the extreme weather data; the number of extreme temperatures (minimum and maximum) and rainfall events have increased significantly from 30 in 1930 to about 358 in 2010 (Mahdi et al, 2015). Out of 38 districts, 28 are flood-prone, with major flood events occurring in 2004, 2007, 2011, 2013 and breach-induced flooding in 2008 Both North and South Bihar have experienced drought, as evidenced by drought being declared in 26 districts in 2009, all 38 districts in 2010 and 33 districts in 2013. In March 2015, there was extensive crop damage because of unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms (Roadmap for Disaster Reduction, 2016)
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