Climate change adaptation by subsistence and smallholder farmers: Insights from three agro-ecological regions of Nepal

Abstract

The unprecedented challenges posed by climate change necessitate agricultural adaptation by farmers, especially in the regions of Asia, where rain-fed agriculture is the principal source of food production. Studying adaptation not only assists in knowing how farmers are dealing with the repercussions of climate change, but also provides the baseline for the planned interventions which are essential in this era of human-instigated climate change. We used case study data to examine whether and how subsistence-oriented smallholder farmers in three agro-ecological zones of Nepal (Terai, Hill, and Mountain) are developing and implementing adaptation strategies. The findings from small farm household interviews (n = 384), key informant interviews (n = 33), and focus group discussions (n = 3) suggest that farmers are dealing with the challenges facing their traditional agricultural practices. The main adaptation strategies include changing crop types and varieties, adding fertilizers, the use of new technologies, soil and water management, diversification of income sources, and migration. Both climatic and nonclimatic factors were found to influence these subsistence smallholder farmers' adaptation practices. However, climatic factors that are beyond individual control threatened the livelihood of rural farmers who predominantly rely on natural resources for their livelihood and income. The findings highlight the interplay of multiple agents: local farmers, community-based organizations, and the local and ABOUT THE AUTHORS Sikha Karki holds a master's degree in Biodiversity and Environment Management from the University of Bergen, Norway and Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Currently, she is doing her PhD at Griffith University, Australia. Her research focuses on the impacts of climate change and food security on farm households in Nepal.

Climate Change Adaptation Influences and Barriers Impacting the Asian Agricultural Industry

“…Among these 29 papers, 23 papers show a decline while two papers show an increased in rainfall [19,20]. In some places, changes in rainfall have described as more erratic [21], unpredictable [22], and untimely [23,24]. Among 22 papers that provided records of climate data, 21 show that farmers' perceptions of climate change have been consistent with the observed scientific data.…”

“…To reduce soil degradation and decomposition resulting from higher temperatures and rainfall variability, Asian farmers have used a different technique to conserve soil structure and to maintain soil moisture. Using mulch is a common method practised by farmers in Nepal [21,38,39] and Myanmar [34]. Some farmers in Sri Lanka use crop residues as mulch to reduce soil moisture loss [29] or use residues as fertilisers [22].…”

“…Some farmers in Sri Lanka use crop residues as mulch to reduce soil moisture loss [29] or use residues as fertilisers [22]. Five papers mentioned minimising ploughing and reducing tillage as soil conservation strategies [21,23,38,40]. However, farmers in a rain-fed region of Pakistan used deep ploughing during the rainy season as a critical farming practice to improve soil moisture [41].…”

“…Eight papers reported that farmers have to provide supplementary irrigation or increase the amount of irrigation during drought periods [28,29,36,[42][43][44][45][46]. Harvesting rainwater to use during the dry season is an essential method used in Sri Lanka [29], India [35], and Nepal [21,38,39]. However, only a small number of farmers are able to employ these strategies due to the lack of financial resources to build a harvesting system [29,39] and due to the lack of knowledge and information about the strategies [38].…”

Climate Change Adaptation Undertaken by Small-scale Farmers in Nepal: A Reference from Tinau River Basin

“…It shows farmers in Terai have more adaptation practices than the practices of Hilly farmers different adaptation strategies depending on the varying climatic, social, economic and institutional elements (Below et al, 2012). Smallholder farmers' adaptation practices were found to be influenced by both climatic and non-climatic factors (Karki, Burton, & Mackey, 2020) The study, basically, addresses three problems faced by small-scale farmers of Tinau River Basin: What perceptions of climate change effects are held by small scale farmers? What sort of strategies are followed by farmers to adapt to changing climate?…”