Impact of Drought on rice based agriculture economy-A Study of Livelihood security in rural areas of Sultanpur District of Uttar Pradesh.

The fundamental objective of the study is to draw a comprehensive picture of livelihood management of rural households in drought situation. It has brought out the consequences of drought on socio-economic condition of rural folks, agricultural aspect of farmers, and their coping strategies as well as on policy implications. In Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Sultanpur is the only district having minimum rainfall which affects the staple diet ‘rice’ of the region. The average rainfall is of 600–700 mm whereas more than 1000 mm is required for rice crop. So in terms of less rainfall it is a drought prone area. Drought condition is determined by three factors, i.e. rainfall, temperature and ground water level (soil type, Which helped in focusing the study. Household economy is adversely affected and socio-economic condition gets deteriorated. Most of the socio-cultural and religious occasions get affected with the affect of drought on the livelihood of the villagers. In this stressed condition, private lenders also lend money at higher rate of interest. Rural households have limited purchasing power which has adversely affected the marketing. Women of the household are actively involved in paddy cultivation. Women in that sense hold important place in socio-economic context. Several methods were used for investigation which showed that drought had laid its impact on every segment of society.