Regional Environmental Change, Farmers’ Perceptions and Resilient Farming: Experiences from the Sagar Island of Indian Sundarbans

Abstract

This research analyzed the patterns of agricultural transformations and adjustments to rapid environmental changes in deltaic island ecosystems by considering the case of Sagar Island of Indian Sundarbans using decadal climatic datasets, geospatial information, and farmers’ perceptions. Farmers’ cognition was considered for identifying crops that were suitable for cultivation in the changing environment. Results indicated that the average annual temperature and precipitation in this region had increased notably since 1980. Similarly, surface soil salinity had also recorded an overall increase throughout the island during the last three decades. In such a scenario, local farmers were only able to profitably cultivate few salinity-tolerant varieties of paddy (e.g., Masoori, Kalma, Santoshi, and Pratiksha) and vegetables (e.g., sunflower, potato, onion, okra, and betel leaf). Brackish water aquaculture had also become popular here in spite of its socio-ecological detriments. Many farmers were found to use their traditional knowledge proficiently alongside modern methods. However, the pressure of local peers, lack of readily investable wealth, and appropriate technological expertise often weakened their adaptive capacity. The findings suggested that effective cropping strategies such as coupled mangrove-shrimp farming and cultivation of salinity as well as waterlogging tolerant crop varieties could be considered as viable strategies toward enhancing resilience.