Developing Knowledge Tool Using Computer Aided Personal Interview Technique for Assessing the Climate Knowledge of Farmers of Odisha

India remains one of the most vulnerable nations in the world towards the climate change effects. As Indian agriculture is mostly rainfed, climate changes such as erratic rainfall, extreme climate events (excess rainfall leading to floods or excessive heat stress leading to droughts) directly affects agriculture productivity, production efficiency and farm profitability. Agri-based livelihoods, food security and economic growth are equally vulnerable and sensitive to climate change shocks. Taking into account that humans are major actors in managing the natural resources that have turned vulnerable due to climate change, their knowledge and awareness is a significant determinant to plan future course of climate action. With this objective, a tool was designed to measure the level of farmers’ knowledge about causes and consequences of climate change. The knowledge item’s judgment and screening was done at two levels followed by item analysis to yield scores of item difficulty, discrimination and construct validity of the items included in the test. The knowledge tool reliability coefficient is 0.760. Finally, it was narrowed down to total ten statements for administering the same to sample farmers to judge their knowledge level about climate change.