Vulnerability assessment of agriculture sector in Yadgir district, Karnataka: a socio-economic survey approach
Student name: Ms Sarishti Attri
Guide: Dr Kamna Sachdeva
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Ban
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Sunil Nautiyal
Abstract: Agriculture sector contributes considerably to our Indian economy and majority of our country’s
population is directly or indirectly linked to it. Being the only major source of income for a major
chunk of rural population, it is indispensable for their survival. With a huge amount of risk factors
involved, is still practiced to ensure food security for huge population of the country. Agriculture
sector, is influenced by multiple stressors, one being climatic, whose impacts are visible in the form
of rise in temperature and sporadic rainfall, whereas, the other being non-climatic which becomes
evident in the form of price fluctuations and is controlled by market forces and other social,
economic and political factors. Vulnerability of a region’s agriculture to the impacts of climate
variability is also aggravated by the kind of cultivation pattern practiced in that area. If a crop
contributes heavily in increasing GHG’s concentration, by intensive use of fertilizers and irrigation,
it makes the region twice as vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. So, a deep understanding of
vulnerability of this sector is critical for developing immediate policies. The study included a survey
of the district, to assess the reasons behind the observed change in the cultivation patterns in past few
years along with assessment of carbon footprint contribution by each crop grown in the region. It
aimed to highlight the crop type which may increase the vulnerability of the region in the long run.
The key findings show the sequential events of how people have shifted from one crop to other. And,
how climatic as well as non-climatic stresses perceived have taken the form of overexploitation of
land, which has affected the fertility of the soil. Water availability has been altered by the changed
rainfall patterns and as a result people have shown more inclination from rain fed to irrigated
agriculture. Low productivity from traditional varieties have increased the dependency on hybrid
seed varieties, which in turn has further increased their problems. Further, variability in climate has
led to change in agricultural practices as it has caused the change in the time of growth and harvest
of the crops. The study compiles the climatic variability experiences of the district for last 10 years
along with non-climatic interventions, and how together have they contributed in changing the
cultivation patterns of the region.
Keywords: Agriculture; Rainfall; Temperature; Vulnerability; Double exposure
