Livelihoods of Farmers Vulnerable to Climate Change: Evidence from Drought-Prone Regions of India

Indian farmers are vulnerable to changing climate with unpredictable rainfall distribution, rising temperature, and complex socioeconomic conditions. The present study aims to assess livelihood vulnerability of farmers in two regions of the most populous State of Uttar Pradesh namely Bundelkhand and Central region. By using multistage random sampling technique, a total of 480 samples from 16 villages, 8 development Blocks, 4 districts, and 2 regions were selected to elicit grass-root information on farmers’ perception of climate change, their sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to changing climate. Further, this study has adopted four methodologies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report for the development of climate vulnerability indices. The results show that farmers in Jhansi district were highly vulnerable to changing climate, while farmers in Barabanki district were relatively less vulnerable. The elevated degree of vulnerability to livelihood in Jhansi district attributed to its comparatively higher exposure and sensitivity to climatic change. Hence, the present study suggested that farmers, specifically in developing countries like India, must adapt to climate change to reduce its negative impact and reap the benefits of adaptation. This could be achieved through establishing training activities, skills development, and capacity to strengthen the farmers’ ability to adapt. These programs are important not only to farmers but also for government officials to provide appropriate technical support to farmers.