Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture and Changing Adaptive Strategies in the Coastal Area of Lakshmipur District, Bangladesh

Abstract

The coastal area of Bangladesh is topographically susceptible to disaster where and climate change addresses a new depressing effect to coastal agriculture. The main objective of the present study was to explore the impacts of climate changes on agriculture and changing adaptive strategies in the coastal district of Lakshmipur in Bangladesh. Primary data were collected through field observation survey, questionnaire survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). To conduct the questionnaire survey, around 120 respondents have been selected randomly from the coastal areas of Ramgati and Kamal Nagar upazilla under Lakshmipur district. The whole survey was conducted during monsoon and winter seasons in the month of March 2014 to February 2015. The present study was carried out through primary and secondary sources of data collection. Field observation survey, questionnaire survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) (during March, 2014 to February, 2015) were accomplished for collecting primary data. The questionnaires contained structured and close ended questions to collect the information through face to face interview from the respondents. Secondary data were collected from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). Collected data were processed and analyzed by the help of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS: version-16) and map of study area were prepared by Arc GIS 9.1 software. The results revealed that about 87.5% of respondents have experienced climate change and its impact on their agriculture gradually from 40 years. They also perceived increase in temperature, drought, flood, cyclone and salinity intrusion, rain less winter season, long summer season, unpredictable rainfall, and changing the monsoon respectively. About 96.6 % respondents perceived decrease in rainfall. Results also revealed that about 53% of respondents experienced severe intensity of major climate change induced disasters. Furthermore, 9% respondents experienced little bit severity. Agricultural crops cultivation is changing from previous time due to the climate changing events and decreasing crop production due to their damaging effects. Almost 40% of respondents in the study area were not familiar with coping strategy in response to climate change. They tried to adjust and cope with cultivation of short duration crops, introducing new variety and making embankment.To minimize the effects of climate change short duration crops, new variety and making embankment for crop cultivation need to adopt in study area.

Sustainability of Coastal Agriculture under Climate Change

“…For example, sustainable fisheries can define the survival capability of many coastal communities; nevertheless, unplanned and excessive shrimp culture that requires ponds of saline water may not be sustainable and may be a concern regarding salinity intrusion [162,163]. In fact, coastal agriculture in Bangladesh has been undergoing a major shift from cereal production, especially paddy, to vegetable production [164] and shrimp farming because climate change and market demand have changed the economic incentives of different farming practices. Farmers are not willing to stick to the existing practices if changes in farming systems offer a higher income [165].…”

Drivers, Barriers and Success Factors in Climate Change Adaptation for Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam

“…Climate change is emerging as one of the most serious challenges humanity has ever facedin this century [1][2][3][4][5] . Changes of climate factors such as increase in temperature, in rainfall pattern or rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide are closely linked to agricultural sector which is highly prone to weather and climatic conditions [6][7][8][9] . Hence, agriculture is deemed to be one of the economic activities that would be most influenced by climate change 10 .…”

“…Therefore,adaptation initiatives are necessary to cope with the increasing impacts of climate change 8,9,11 . Different studies all over the world have proven that through sustainable farming systems such as shifting cropping patterns, crop diversification, integrated livestock production and restoration of degraded land, agriculture have an inherent potential to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, enhance carbon sequestration in the soil and increase the ability to adapt to climate change 12,13 .…”

Farmer’s Perception and Factors Influencing Adoption of Adaptation Measures to Cope with Climate Change: An Evidence from Coastal Bangladesh

“…Also, no specific scientific study has been conducted yet in Bangladesh regarding farmer's perception and factors influencing the adaptation decision to cope with climate change. Most of the study conducted so far in Bangladesh regarding farmer's perception and response to climate change has focused only on drought-prone areas (Alam, 2015;Alauddin and Sarker, 2014;Sarker et al, 2013;Habiba et al, 2012), saline-prone areas (Kabir et al, 2017;Uddin et al, 2017;Hasnat et al, 2016;Rashid et al, 2014), riverbank erosion-prone areas (Alam et al, 2017;Ahmed, 2015;Karim, 2014) and riverine char islands (Ahmed et al, 2021). Therefore, there is an urgent necessity to identify the strategies that are best suited to support farmers and farming communities in this period of climate change and to identify the factors influencing farmers' adoption of adaptation strategies to cope with climate change.…”