Farmers’ adaptation to water scarcity in drought-prone environments: a case study of Rajshahi District, Bangladesh

Alam, Khorshed ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2232-0745 (2015) Farmers’ adaptation to water scarcity in drought-prone environments: a case study of Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. Agricultural Water Management, 148. pp. 196-206. ISSN 0378-3774

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Abstract

Water scarcity and droughts pose serious threats to the livelihood of farming communities and the economy in many parts of the world. Using a survey of 546 farming households and employing multinomial logit regression, this study investigates rice farmers’ adaptation to water scarcity in a semi-arid climate in Bangladesh. It identified factors determining farmers’ adaptation responses to addressing water scarcity. The analysis shows that farmers with more experience of farming, better schooling, more secure tenure rights, better access to electricity and institutional facilities and an awareness of climatic effects are more likely to adopt alternative adaptation strategies. Farmers’ alternative adaptation choices are examined in comparison to the traditional approach of groundwater irrigation. This study raises issues of sustainability of agricultural adaptation practices in the context of an increasing dependence on groundwater irrigation. The results provide an insight to sustainable irrigation practices and an understanding of the characteristics of farms and farming households to frame better strategies to cope with water-stressed regimes in drought-prone environments.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Accepted version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Commerce (1 Jul 2013 - 17 Jan 2021)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Commerce (1 Jul 2013 - 17 Jan 2021)
Date Deposited:	02 Dec 2014 00:21
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2016 01:26
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adaptation; Bangladesh; climate change; drought; rice farming; multinomial logit model
Fields of Research (2008):	14 Economics > 1402 Applied Economics > 140201 Agricultural Economics 05 Environmental Sciences > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050209 Natural Resource Management 14 Economics > 1403 Econometrics > 140301 Cross-Sectional Analysis
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	B Economic Development > 91 Economic Framework > 9102 Microeconomics > 910209 Preference, Behaviour and Welfare D Environment > 96 Environment > 9603 Climate and Climate Change > 960301 Climate Change Adaptation Measures
Identification Number or DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2014.10.011
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/26297

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