Vol. 11, Special Issue 10 (2022)

Author(s):
Bineeta Satpathy, Monalisa Behera and RP Mishra

Abstract:
Recurrent drought is a major catastrophic in the drought prone area of Odisha state in India. Agriculture (e.g., agriculture, horticulture and livestock) is the major income activity of over 80% of the state's population. The objective of this study is to understand the rural farming community perception of drought impacts on their socio-economic activities, their adaptation at the household level and opinions on government drought mitigation measures especially training component. This study is based on both primary and secondary data collected via a survey of 150 farming households. The results showed that food scarcity, malnutrition, seasonal migration, unemployment were the most immediate socio-economic impacts of drought as perceived by affected farmers. In spite of good perception of severity of drought impacts by farmers and their familiarity with various adaptation options, the preference given for their adaptation in agriculture was not good enough. The adaptation strategy as preferred by respondents were reducing feeding schedule of livestock (88%), seasonal migration (37%) and altering planting dates of crops (17%) to avert the risk.