Farmers’ perception on risk and management strategies in Mahanadi river basin in Odisha: An economic analysis

Using primary data from the Mahanadi river basin in Odisha, the present study has examined the risk perceptions, management strategies and their relationship with farm and farmer characteristics. A total of 311 farmers were interviewed from three districts, namely Sonepur, Boudh and Kendrapada, which are in the upper (102), middle (106) and lower (103) regions of the Mahanadi river. Drought was perceived as the most important source of risk in the upper region, inadequate government support including crop insurance in the middle region and flood in the lower region. The important risk management strategies followed were varietal diversification in the upper region, and crop diversification in middle (mixed cropping) and lower regions. The result of multiple regression analysis showed that risk perception of the farmers of three regions is influenced by social groups, off-farm income, ratio of earning members to the household size, farm size, land ownership status and government support. The regression results of management strategies were almost similar.