Adaptation Strategies for Climate Smart Agriculture

This paper has studied the occurrence of droughts in India and their impact on agriculture. It has documented various adaptation strategies practised by the farmers and has examined their feasibility for developing climate smart agriculture. For study, a sample of 237 farmers was selected from three drought-prone districts, viz. Akola, Solapura and Nashik of Maharashtra. The study has revealed that the frequency of droughts has increased over time. The successive droughts had derailed the economy in these regions. During drought, farmers faced production-related problems like total crop damage, erratic and insufficient rainfall, non-availability of quality seeds, rising inputs cost, insufficient groundwater irrigation, increased disease infestation and increase in wildlife attack. About 88 per cent of the farmers in the study area adopted one or more adaptation measures. The farmers relied heavily on both short-run and long-run adaptation strategies. In the short-run, production adjustment measures were reported more beneficial in adapting to climate change. Farmers felt that in the long-run adaptation strategies like digging borewells or open wells, installation of sprinklers and drips, etc. were very effective in mitigating the effects of a drought. However, these were capital-intensive and hence subsidies and credit facilities were crucial for their adoption.