Smallholders’ Farm Practices as the Coping Strategies for Adaptation to Climate Change (Rainfall) Effects in West Bengal — An Economic Analysis

The study has presented economic analysis of smallholders’ farm practices along with the coping strategies they adapt to the effects of climate change in West Bengal by collecting data from 125 farmers during 2013 and 2014. The study has found that to face the effect of climate change, farmers adop, changing of cropping pattern. This effective farm-level strategy reduces risk by 12.5 per cent and ensures better return through recovery (16%). The non-adopters of special irrigation practices during delay in rainfall could not get this benefit. The resourcepoor farmers need more information and institutional support. The values of adaptation strategy index (ASI) and problem confrontation index (PCI) have indicated that inter alia extending facilities of irrigation water is the main issue of adaptation strategy and also the main constraint. The study has made various recommendations at farm level (e.g., promote adoption of new technologies and practices, encourage efficient-use of resources, promote agro-biodiversity, etc.) and public level (e.g., more investment in agricultural R&D, extend institutional support to disseminate information, policies on water, trade, domestic support, enhance agricultural trade, etc.) to face the future effects of climate change.