Adaptation of small scale farmers to climatic risks in India - Sustainet

the weather of Orissa. Consequently, the coastal zone is subjected to mild and pleasant climatic
conditions while the Eastern Ghats are much cooler. The state has ten agro climatic zones, differing on
climate, land, soil and cropping pattern. The state experiences about 70 rainy days during monsoon
(Patil, 2009)
In the study area of Rayagada district, summer is typically from March to June when temperature
ranges from a maximum of 47°C during daytime to a minimum of 10°C at night. Winter is from
November to February when the maximum temperature during day goes up to 40°C and minimum
temperature at night becomes as low as 2.2°C. The average annual rainfall of Rayagada district is
1269.1 mm (IMD, Orissa). The Southwest monsoon lasts from mid June to mid September and the
area gets more than 80% of the annual rainfall during this period.
5.1.2 Land holdings, soil information and cropping patterns
The economy of Orissa is predominantly agricultural. Agriculture contributes nearly 30 per cent to the
Net State Domestic Product (NSDP). About 73 per cent of the total work force is engaged in agriculture
(Planning Commission, Govt. of India).
The average size of land holding in the state is 1.30 hectares. The average size of marginal holdings is
0.50 hectares, of small holdings is 1.38 hectares, of semi-medium holdings 2.67 hectares, of medium
holdings 5.54 hectares and the average size of large holdings is 15.96 hectares (Buxi, 2004).
In Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where the studied villages are located, 65% of the households
own less than a hectare of land, most of which is un-irrigated (Orissa Development Report, 2008).
Upland is the predominant land type with 58% of total cultivated area, followed by 25% and 17%
medium and low lands. About 15% of the cultivated area is irrigated, while 85% is dependent on
monsoon rains.
Most common food grains include cereals as rice, and coarse grains such as maize, jowar and millets.
Gulji (Panicum miliare), Cheena (Panicum maliaceam), Suan (Echinichloa frumentacea), Kango
(Setaria italica), Koda (Paspalam scorbiculatum) and pulses like pigeon pea (locally called Kandul),
cow pea (locally called Barbati), rice bean (locally called Dangar Rani), green gram and black gram are
other important crops. The oilseeds grown in the region are groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, niger, sun
flower and sesame. Among the vegetables pumpkin, cucumber, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, snake gourd,
okra, beans, radish, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, potato, brinjal (eggplant), tomato, and leafy
vegetables are important. Crops with different maturing periods are planted on the same land.
Farmer interviews revealed that the agriculture is mostly of subsistence type and the tribal farmers have
not yet used fertilizers and plant protection chemicals on a large scale. To maintain the fertility, the land
is left fallow after every two sowings.
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