The response of farmers to the flood hazard under rice–wheat ecosystem in Somb basin of Haryana, India: an empirical study

Abstract

Floods are recurrent features in India, affecting crop production and leading to food shortages. Coping with floods has been a major concern since the dawn of human civilization. However, little is currently known regarding farmer’s psychological responses and adaptation to floods. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine the means by which farmers of a flood-affected area of rural India cope with this hazard. Primary data for the study were collected during the months of November and December 2010 from randomly selected two hundred flood-affected households under rice–wheat ecosystem in the flood-prone Somb basin of Haryana state in India. The study area is highly susceptible to floods with a major flood occurring every 10 years and smaller ones happening every 2–3 years. Farmer’s indigenous coping strategies have helped them to reduce significantly their vulnerability towards the flood. Analysis revealed that the respondent farmers continuously battle against flood vulnerability in accordance with their level of exposure and abilities and they practiced an array of indigenous coping strategies such as agronomic adjustments, family budget adjustments, help from social set-up and credit from financial institutions to mitigate the adverse effects of the floods. While both rich and poor households were affected by the floods, households pertaining to the lower socio-economic group suffered the most. The study, therefore, recommends that indigenous flood mitigating strategies need to be well recognized and emphasized via proper dissemination of information in other flood-affected areas of the country to enhance victims’ ability to cope.