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

7 Summary and Conclusions:
This report, documenting five case studies, makes an effort to strengthen the knowledge base on local
climate change adaptation initiatives being practiced in different states of India, which will supplement
the Government of India’s efforts of developing a climate resilient national policy for agriculture
development. This report is an outcome of our bottom-up approach of hearing the voices from the field
and our sincere efforts to taking their concerns to the people who matter the most.
The five states face a general problem of water availability, reduced farm productivity due to erratic and
untimely rainfall. Soil fertility loss, soil erosion problem and intensified agriculture practices lead to an
overall decrease in income of small-scale farmers. Moreover, mono – cropping, practiced in many
places adds to their problems. At the same time, these farmers at most of the times do not wait for
external interventions and develop their own adaptation strategies. Many have shifted back to their ageold
farming practices like “baranaaja”, cropping patterns involving 12 or more food crops grown in
‘synergetic’ combinations (Uttarakhand). Some have shifted to re-constructing “bawaris”, old water
storage structures, as in the case of Rajasthan. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh have started an innovative
social self-regulation mechanism of water usage. Some of them are even shifting from highly
remunerative groundnut cultivation to food and fodder crop cultivation. Migration to nearby towns in
search of better earnings is very common. Govt. policies and programmes providing additional options
for secured income (like the NREGA) as well as provision of advanced technologies for Agriculture (like
ATMA scheme) might be useful.
These coping and adaptation strategies however, face limitations of adaptation driven and financed by
the communities themselves. Based on the future needs of communities, the study reveals
opportunities of future interventions, both by the external development agencies and the Government of
India. Besides the key recommendations, state specific recommendations are also provided in the last
section of each case study, which provides the reader with the urgent needs felt by the farmers. The
required relevant entry points may be categorised into three broad domains: Support in the form of
policy regulations, infrastructure facilities and efficient delivery systems.
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