adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone gujarat

19
This article was downloaded by: [Florida International University] On: 20 December 2014, At: 14:40 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Climate and Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcld20 Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat OMARI MWINJAKA a , JOYEETA GUPTA b & TON BRESSER c a East African Community (EAC)/Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP II) , Re-insurance Plaza Building, P. O. Box 1510-40100, Kisumu, Kenya b IVM Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam , De Boelelaan 1087, 1071, HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands c UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education , Westvest 7, 2611, AX Delft, The Netherlands Published online: 08 Jun 2011. To cite this article: OMARI MWINJAKA , JOYEETA GUPTA & TON BRESSER (2010) Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat, Climate and Development, 2:4, 346-363 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3763/cdev.2010.0058 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat

This article was downloaded by: [Florida International University]On: 20 December 2014, At: 14:40Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office:Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Climate and DevelopmentPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscriptioninformation:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcld20

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmersin drought-prone GujaratOMARI MWINJAKA a , JOYEETA GUPTA b & TON BRESSER ca East African Community (EAC)/Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC),Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP II) , Re-insurancePlaza Building, P. O. Box 1510-40100, Kisumu, Kenyab IVM Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam , DeBoelelaan 1087, 1071, HV Amsterdam, The Netherlandsc UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education , Westvest 7, 2611, AX Delft,The NetherlandsPublished online: 08 Jun 2011.

To cite this article: OMARI MWINJAKA , JOYEETA GUPTA & TON BRESSER (2010) Adaptation strategies of thepoorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat, Climate and Development, 2:4, 346-363

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3763/cdev.2010.0058

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”)contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and ourlicensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, orsuitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publicationare the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor &Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independentlyverified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilitieswhatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantialor systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, ordistribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and usecan be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers indrought-prone GujaratOMARI MWINJAKA1,*, JOYEETA GUPTA2 and TON BRESSER3

1Water Resources Management Officer (WRMO), East African Community (EAC)/Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Lake

Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP II), Re-insurance Plaza Building, P. O. Box 1510-40100, Kisumu, Kenya2IVM Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1071 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands3UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands

A literature survey indicates that farmers can adopt many strategies to cope with climate change. On the basis of 160 interviewsin Gujarat, India, this paper examines which coping strategies are used by farmers and how government policies influencefarmer behaviour. This paper concludes that the impressive drought relief framework focuses more on ex post, short-termresponses and does not take into account the potential impacts of climate change or the actual experiences of the poorestfarmers. Further, some farmers are able to access the variety of policy assistance that the state offers, but credit andinsurance schemes remain out of reach for farmers with low credit ratings and large rain-fed farms.

Keywords: climate change; coping; drought; Gujarat; rain fed

1. Introduction

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) confirms that

the impacts of climate change on agriculture

will likely be very severe, especially for those in

rain-dependent regions. Limited financial, insti-

tutional and human resources, and high

ecosystem-dependent economic and livelihood

activities such as subsistence farming leave the

poor highly vulnerable (IPCC, 2007). India is an

agrarian country and agriculture is the backbone

of the economy. Yet 68 per cent of the net sown

area (144 Mha) is prone to drought, out of

which 50 per cent is severely drought prone.

Because two-thirds of India’s population is depen-

dent on agriculture, and a large percentage of

agriculture is rain fed, droughts and rainfall pat-

terns will seriously affect the ability of these

farmers to grow crops (TERI, 2003).

Gujarat is a water-scarce state in India, very

vulnerable to droughts (TERI, 2003). The rural

population is predominantly dependent on agri-

culture, which is highly dependent on the south-

west monsoon. The incidence of droughts has

become a regular feature: in recent years, every

five-year cycle has two to three years of drought.

About 80 per cent of the population in the

Kachchh district depends on rainfall and

the population is increasingly vulnerable to the

growing number of droughts and consequent

famines. For poor farmers adaptation strategies

are vital, as failure to adapt could lead to social

problems and displacement (Downing et al.,

1997).

Against this background, this paper examines

the generic adaptation strategies of subsistence

farmers in coping with extreme weather events

and climate variability, and studies how farmers

in the arid and semi-arid state of Gujarat cope

with extreme weather events and climate varia-

bility, what strategies they use and how govern-

ment influences their behaviour. Gujarat is an

interesting case because, on the one hand, the

research article

B *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT 2 (2010) 346–363

doi:10.3763/cdev.2010.0058 # 2010 Earthscan ISSN: 1756-5529 (print), 1756-5537 (online) www.earthscan.co.uk/journals/cdev

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situation is not as extreme as in parts of Africa,

where drought is a continuous state, and

because, on the other hand, it is a relatively

well-off state in comparison to other parts of the

developing world. This implies that a better

match of government policy and autonomous

coping strategies may help residents deal with

the impacts of climate change, as compared to

more vulnerable areas where a higher order of

response may be needed ex ante and ex post. At

the same time, unless these measures are well

designed they will only help to maintain the

status quo and not ensure that the resilience of

the farmers improves over time.

In order to address these questions, a literature

review of agricultural coping strategies was

undertaken. This was followed by a brief assess-

ment of the relevant policies in India and

Gujarat, and interviews with seven key infor-

mants1 at the state level and with 160 farmers in

nine villages in Mbachau taluka in the Kachchh

district (see Table 1). Interviewees were identified

through consultations with the Kutch Nav

Nirman Abhiyan (a local non-governmental

organization (NGO)) and the snowball method.

The data collected were verified through two

group discussions with the farmers. Finally, the

data were analysed and presented at a stake-

holders’ workshop held on 12 January 2008 in

Bhuj involving 30 participants. Responses from

the stakeholders’ workshop were incorporated

into the analysis. The data were analysed both

qualitatively and quantitatively by using the Stat-

istical Package for the Social Sciences program

(SPSS).

This paper presents a literature review of

adaptation options in the agricultural sector in

general (Section 2), analyses the Gujarati

policy framework in the area of climate

change, water and agriculture (Section 3), pre-

sents the results of the interviews (Section 4),

analyses the coping capacity of the farmers

and the ability of the policy framework to

support and stimulate this coping capacity

(Section 5), and finally draws conclusions and

recommendations (Section 6).

2. Response strategies of the agriculturalsector

2.1. Introduction

This section briefly elaborates on the types of

adaptation measures that can be taken, before dis-

cussing the generic adaptation strategies used in

the agricultural sector to deal with climatic varia-

bility and extreme events.

2.2. Types of adaptation measures

Measures taken in anticipation of a possible

change are ex ante measures calling for an

ability to predict the future. Reactive (or auton-

omous) adaptation consists of coping strategies

that actors may adopt in response to possible

climate impacts (ex post). These strategies

merely require the decision maker to be aware

of the changes that have occurred. Both ex

ante and ex post strategies have strengths and

weaknesses. The effectiveness of reactive

measures is dependent on the available resources.

The capacity to adapt autonomously depends on,

among other things, institutional support, man-

power, and financial and technological resources

TABLE 1 Names of villages and number of farmers selected

Name of village

Morgan Kadol Amarsar Bhandari Kabrau Deshalpar Ner Bhujpar Amardi

Interview number (F) 1–18 19–40 41–68 69–80 81–89 90–103 104–129 130–143 144–160

Number interviewed 18 22 28 12 9 14 26 14 17

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat 347

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(see Ausubel, 1991; Yohe et al., 1996; Mendel-

sohn, 1999; Mendelsohn and Neumann, 1999).

However, Barnett (2001) argues that focusing

policy on such autonomous adaptation may be

futile because there is no guarantee that the

necessary biological, cultural and social processes

that trigger adaptation will be present.

Mendelsohn (1999) emphasizes that sectors

that can adjust quickly to climate change can

autonomously adapt to climate change as it

unfolds. The agricultural sector historically has

always adapted to the vagaries of nature, does

not generally have long-lasting capital and thus

the early depreciation of capital to adjust to

climate change is not necessary. Mendelsohn

(1999) asserts that precautionary or planned

(ex ante) adaptations to climate change should

be more appropriately aimed at capital-intensive

sectors (e.g. the coastal and forestry sectors).

These sectors either take time to respond or are

currently under such stress due to other pressures

that any further exposure due to climate change

will push them over critical threshold bound-

aries. Burton (1996) and Smit and Pilifosova

(2001) suggest that a planned approach to

address climate impacts is more efficient and

effective than reactive measures.

Bryant et al. (2000) argue that planned adap-

tations call for dynamic public policy aimed at

robust and flexible strategies, and net benefits

(Lewandrowski and Brazee, 1993; World Bank,

1998). Both ex ante and ex post adaptation

measures can be implemented at local through

to global levels. These can be assessed and incor-

porated in response strategies adopted by individ-

uals or local communities. Both direct and

indirect response strategies aimed at negating

concerns about the predicted impacts of climate

change should be included in the possible mix

of ex ante strategies (Benioff et al., 1996;

Fankhauser, 1996; Smith, 1997; Pielke, 1998;

UNEP, 1998). Such adaptation strategies can

potentially reduce long-term vulnerability as

well as realize opportunities associated with

climate change, regardless of autonomous adap-

tation (Smith, 1997; Burton et al., 1998; Fankhau-

ser et al., 1999).

Smit et al. (2000) add that the propensity of

systems (e.g. socio-economic systems) to adapt

is influenced by certain system characteristics

that have been called ‘determinants of adap-

tation’. These include terms such as ‘sensitivity’,

‘vulnerability’ and ‘resilience’, and ‘adaptive

capacity’, among others. The occurrences as well

as the nature of adaptation strategies are influ-

enced by these.

2.3. Generic adaptation measures used in theagricultural sector

The literature reveals a number of strategies used

in the agricultural sector to cope with climatic

variability. Ex post strategies at the farmer level

include crop diversification, changing cropping

intensity, changing crop mix, and changing

crop type and location. Ex ante strategies at the

market level include crop insurance, price strat-

egies, and opening up to trade and investment.

Ex-ante strategies at the government level

include extension services, promoting diversifica-

tion of income-generating opportunities, devel-

oping food reserves and storage systems for

emergencies, supporting temporary and perma-

nent migration, and land-use strategies. Ex-ante

technological options include the development

of new technologies, adoption of existing tech-

nologies and improving forecasting mechanisms.

Table 2 classifies the options in terms of the

different levels of reforms, provides the reasons

behind these strategies, elaborates briefly on the

relevant policies and provides the source of the

information.

2.4. Inferences

The literature shows that farmers have coped with

climate variability through history and have a tra-

dition of autonomous adaptation. However,

given the possible impacts of climate change,

both ex-ante and ex-post measures are becoming

increasingly important for farmers to adapt

to climate change impacts. Although many

348 Mwinjaka, Gupta and Bresser

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TABLE 2 Generic coping strategies used by farmers

Classification

of responses

Types within each

classification

Reason Relevant policies Reference

Micro-level coping strategies

Ex post Crop diversification Takes care of risks at farm

level

Promote extension

services

Benioff et al. (1996), Smit et al.

(1996), Chiotti et al. (1997),

Downing et al. (1997), Baker

and Viglizzo (1998)

Evenson (1997), Collier and

Gunning (1999), Mizina et al.

(1999)

Mizina et al. (1999), Kherallah

et al. (2002)

Change cropping

intensity

Improves soil water holding

capacity, holding nutrients

and minimizes soil erosion

Use pricing policies

Change crop mix Takes care of risks Promote extension

services

Use pricing policies

Change crop type

and location

Improves soil water holding

capacity and overcoming

long-term climate impacts

Promote extension

services

Use pricing policies

Matarira and Mwanuka (1996)

Market responses

Ex ante Crop insurance Enables improved risk

coverage

Risk management through

risk reduction and risk

sharing

Improve access to

insurance

Improve supervisory

capacity

Revise price incentives

Improve affordability/

availability of coverage

for catastrophes

Moreddu (2000)

Ex ante Develop market

efficiency such as

pricing reform, open

markets and

agriculture markets

Promotes more efficient use

of resources

Remove barriers

Property rights; pricing

policy

Adjust input subsidies

that constrain adaptation

Land-use regulation

Smit and Skinner (2002)

Ex ante Promote trade Promotes economic growth

Strengthens long-term food

supply and production

limitations

Pricing and exchange

rate reform and

stabilization

Adjust agricultural

subsidies and tariffs

Rosenzweig et al. (1993)

Ex ante Promote investment Overcomes financial

limitations to adapt

Property rights; design

innovating financial tools

O’Brien (2000)

Classification

of responses

Types within each

classification

Reason Necessary supporting

policies

Policy changes at state level

Ex ante Extension services Improves agricultural

productivity, information and

knowledge sharing

Institutional support, for

example, farmers

cooperatives

Mizina et al. (1999)

Continued

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat 349

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TABLE 2 Continued

Ex ante Diversify income

earning and

employment

opportunities

Stabilizes income Institutional support Burton (2001), Ellis (1998)

Ex ante Food reserves and

storage

Temporary relief Promote private sector

participation

Harold and Paxton (1992)

Ex post Temporary migration Risk diversification strategy

to withstand climate shocks

and seasonal effects

Employment training/

opportunities

Locke (2000), Desanker (2002)

Ex post Permanent migration Diversify income earning

opportunities

To overcome long-lasting

climate impacts

Employment training/

opportunities

Locke (2000), Desanker (2002)

Ex ante Institutional

strengthening,

planning,

implementation and

decision-making

structures

To support long-term

planning

Reduce vulnerability

Provide information on the

changing socio-economic

structure, demographics,

technology, and public

preferences

Improve organizational

capacity, responsibility and

operational effectiveness

Reform existing

institutions that support

agricultural sector

Price incentives; improve

regulations and

technology standards

Legal reform for

stimulating domestic and

international investment

Changes in international

and domestic

competition

Smit and Skinner (2002),

Hernes et al. (1995)

Technological measures

Ex ante Development of new

technologies and

modernization

of farm equipments

Increases production and

reduces vulnerability

Promotes technology

adaptation

Hayami and Ruttan (1985),

Houghton et al. (1990),

Rosenberg (1992), Reilly and

Fuglie (1998), Evenson (1999),

Gopo (2001)

Ex ante Adoption of

technological and

other adaptation

measures

Increases agricultural yields

Reduces average fixed

costs

Reduces variable costs

Price incentives

including tax reform and

extension services

Gabre-Madhin et al. (2002)

Ex ante Short-term forecast

Improve forecasting

mechanisms

Improves preparation for

medium-term climatic

impacts

Strengthens ability to cope

with climate change

Improve preparation for

medium-term climatic

impacts

Institutional support (e.g.

establishment of farmer

cooperatives to spread

knowledge)

Barnett (2001)

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Page 7: Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat

adaptation strategies at the farmer level are

ex post, the government and the private sector

play an important role in supporting ex-ante

adaptation. Governments can build sustainable

livelihoods through drought relief measures

and, by moving from ad hoc measures to

planned relief interventions, can create longer-

term livelihood options. Although the literature

promotes many neoliberal ideas for adaptation

such as property rights, pricing strategies, open

trade and investment, it is important to investi-

gate whether such strategies may work in specific

country contexts.

3. Response strategies in policy

3.1. Introduction

This section briefly discusses national and state

policy on agriculture and climate change, before

assessing how farmers perceive the effectiveness

of such policies in helping them respond to cli-

matic variability.

3.2. Gujarat and drought

Our review of the available models indicates that

there may be a general increase in rainfall in

western India with more intense rain events.

While the increased rainfall is welcome, an

increase in rainfall intensity might lead to a high

surface runoff and loss of water from the region.

An analysis of past rainfall data for Gujarat indi-

cates a different picture. Gujarat has experienced

12 years of drought, and four major scarcity situ-

ations. The intensity and return period of major

drought events has increased substantially in the

last two to three decades. This is in line with the

projected impacts of climate change.

Traditionally, Gujarat had a drought cycle of

five years, including two years of moderate rain-

fall, two years of low rainfall and one year of

good rainfall. Two consecutive years of low rain-

fall make it difficult for the communities to

sustain their livelihoods. It becomes worse when

there are three consecutive years of low rainfall.

Statistical data indicate that in the last two

decades, the intensity of the three-year period of

consecutive low rainfall is increasing, thereby

creating a severe drought situation (Shaw, 2005).

The increased droughts have also led to increased

famine (De Vries and Goudsblom, 2002).

3.3. State policy and how it is experienced atground level

Disaster management in India is a state-level issue,

with the central government playing a facilitative

role. Generally, central government will deal with

major disasters when states are unable to do so. At

the national level, the Ministry of Home Affairs is

responsible for disaster relief while the Ministry of

Agriculture is responsible for drought manage-

ment, because droughts potentially impact

heavily on the agricultural sector and will have

secondary impacts on the rest of the society in

terms of food availability and access.

The Government of India’s climate change

policy tends to be defensive (Gupta, 1997, 2001).

While the Government of India’s National Com-

munication on Climate Change (GOI, 2004) to

the secretariat of the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change recognizes that

climate change is likely to have an impact on

Indian agriculture, it pays relatively little attention

to adaptation measures and policies at the federal

level. In the federal context of India, policies do

not always trickle down to the states and the

states are unlikely to develop policies if there are

no financial incentives provided by the centre. In

this context, existing agricultural policy in the

state of Gujarat simply focuses on promoting agri-

cultural productivity in the arid and semi-arid con-

ditions that exist in the state and does not

explicitly take climate change into account.

3.4. Measures at national level

At the national level, the responsibility for

weather forecasting, an important aspect in

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat 351

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early warning for droughts, lies with the Indian

Meteorological Department under the Ministry

of Science and Technology. The role of the

Meteorological Department is restricted to

making meteorological observations and fore-

casting information for optimum operation of

weather-dependent activities such as agriculture

and water management. However, the National

Drought Early Warning System functions

through an inter-departmental Crop Weather

Watch Group (CWWG) (Ministry of Agriculture,

personal communication). The CWWG consists

of a group of administrators representing

various government departments responsible for

managing essential inputs for agriculture, and

scientists from the national agricultural system

(Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Minis-

try of Agriculture). Table 3 shows the composition

and the roles of its members.

The CWWG meets once every week during the

monsoon season from June to September and

assesses the monsoon situation and various

other parameters that may be relevant for

drought. The information flow after the CWWG

identifies that an impending drought can take a

long time. Interviews reveal that the procedure

is such that at the state level, the state govern-

ment assesses the situation and sends a request

for central assistance after identification of the

drought situation in the state. It takes up to

three weeks for the central government to send

Central Assessment Teams to assess the drought

situation in the state and to respond to the assess-

ment request by the state government. Figure 1

shows the flow of information and the time it

takes for various responses.

A report prepared by the Community Level

International Research Institute for Climate Pre-

diction and the Asian Disaster Preparedness

Centre (Someshwar and Subbiah, 2003) identifies

a crucial gap in climate information dissemina-

tion to the end users and states that an end-to-end

climate application system for drought mitiga-

tion does not exist in India. The report,

however, states that India has a fine institutional

mechanism that connects the central govern-

ment via the state governments down to the dis-

trict administration, and that this mechanism is

responsible for better delivery of relief services,

safeguarding and ensuring the recovery of liveli-

hood systems and ultimately avoiding or mitigat-

ing the worst impacts of famines.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Income

Guarantee Act of 2005 aims to provide employ-

ment of a maximum of 100 days per year per

rural adult in public schemes and this can, inter

alia, help to soften the impact of drought on

farmers. This scheme is slowly expanding its cov-

erage and may turn out to be a critical policy in

the future.

3.5. Measures at state level

Drought management in Gujarat is not very

different from other states in India and it is very

much a reactive strategy. However, the state has

established a drought early warning system –

TABLE 3 Composition of the Crop Weather Watch Groupand the role of the members

Composition Role

Central Relief

Commissioner, Chairman of

the group

Promotes overall coordination

Economic and statistical

advisor

Reports on behaviour of

agro-climatic and market

indicators

Indian Meteorological

Department

Monsoon forecast and progress

of monsoon

Central Water Commission Water-level situation in major

reservoirs

Crop specialists Crop conditions and prospects

Agricultural input supply

divisions

Agricultural extension

specialists

Supply and demand for all

agricultural inputs

Reporting on field-level farm

operations

Ministry of Power Managing electrical power for

ground water use

Ministry of Petroleum Supply for ground water use

Indian Council of

Agricultural Research

Information for technology

transfer

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the Weather Watch Group – under the chairman-

ship of the Principal Secretary, Revenue. The

working of the WWG resembles that of the

CWWG formed by the Ministry of Agriculture

and Cooperation. This group meets once every

week and assesses the drought situation by moni-

toring parameters such as rainfall, irrigation

facilities, water in reservoirs and electricity

supply. The state has a clear response mechanism

to drought. The state cabinet committee, which is

a standing committee, gets activated as soon as

drought is declared in the state. A state cabinet

sub-committee is responsible for policy making,

monitoring and implementation of the drought

relief work. The Chief Secretary heads the group

responsible for policy making while the Relief

Commissioner heads the implementation

group. A State Relief Manual facilitates the relief

work and outlines clear implementation guide-

lines. Appropriate institutional mechanisms

check the quality of drought relief implemen-

tation, which includes the provision of monetary

relief (loans, grants, etc.), food, water and fodder

supply, and crop contingency relief measures

such as the supply of seeds and fertilizers.

The practice has been that food grains are dis-

tributed to the affected population in return for

the work they do in the government drought

relief programmes. Typically, the affected popu-

lation is engaged in public works such as deepen-

ing of village ponds, agricultural ponds,

construction or repairing of check dams, and con-

struction or repair of roads. Cattle camps are one

such activity that provides centralized facilities

for arranging feed and water facilities.

3.6. Drought mitigation mechanisms

Watershed development and other social devel-

opmental programmes mainly drive drought

risk mitigation in India, aiming at the overall

development of stressed environments. These

programmes include the Drought Prone Areas

Programme (DPAP), the Desert Development Pro-

gramme (DDP), the Watershed Programme

(a hydro geological approach for in situ soil

and water conservation), the Food for Work

Programme, the Employment Assurance

Scheme, Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana,

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Antyodaya

Anna Yojana, the National Old Age Programme,

the Integrated Child Development Scheme and

the Mid-Day Meal for schoolchildren.

Some programmes, such as the DPAP, the DDP

and the Integrated Wasteland Development

FIGURE 1 State-level drought reporting mechanisms and estimated time response

Source: Key informant 1 and 7.

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Projects (run by the Ministry of Rural Develop-

ment) and the National Watershed Development

Programme in rain-fed areas (under the Ministry

of Agriculture), mainly rely on a watershed-based

approach driven by governmental and non-

governmental organizations. It aims to conserve

natural resources, including water. Studies on

these programmes show that their drawbacks

include a top-down approach leading to less ful-

filment of local needs, poor community partici-

pation, low development of community-based

assets, lack of sustainability of the programme,

and greater focus on financial monitoring of pro-

jects rather than on effectiveness or how such

interventions could lower the drought vulner-

ability of the programme’s villages or regions

(Kerr et al., 2002).

The existing policies of the state government

can be classified as economic, regulatory and

suasive. Economic instruments include credit

schemes, subsidies and insurance policies.

Although economic instruments are clearly

defined in policy documents, their implemen-

tation is problematic. Interviews reveal that

poor rain-dependent farmers do not benefit

from credit and insurance programmes because

they do not have property or investments that

can be used as security to obtain credit and are

seen as high-risk debtors. Regulatory instruments

include institutional arrangements and water

management practices. Interviews with key infor-

mants reveal that there is poor integration and

coordination between ministries dealing with

climate-related issues to address cross-cutting

and high-level policy questions. Suasive instru-

ments include information and knowledge

tools, for example, climate change information.

However, as interviewees explained, the lack of

quality research centres and networks to provide

training and extension services and to dissemi-

nate information to farmers is a bottleneck. At

the same time, the government can build on

and support existing initiatives. For example, in

the Kachchh district, 31 villages are involved in

a drought-proofing pilot programme, organized

by the federal and state government, in collabor-

ation with other organizations and communities

to reduce community dependence on drought

relief work and relief subsidies. This programme is

coordinated by Abhiyan, a network of 30 diverse

rural development NGOs covering 450 villages

that emerged as a response to the 1998 cyclone

and emphasizes collaborative advocacy, commu-

nity governance, self-rehabilitation of individuals,

decentralization and capacity building. Chaired

by the District Collector in Bhuj, Abhiyan has

established cluster-level community facilitation

centres (SETU).2 SETU works with local people as

well as cooperating with the government, inter-

national organizations and NGOs (see Figure 2).

Within these arrangements there is K-Link

(Kachchh Local Information Kendra), established

after the 2001 earthquake, which coordinates

data collection on damage to each village and

household. K-Link collects information from each

village through SETU, analyses it and distributes

it to governmental organizations and other NGOs

or private agencies that work in the villages.

Although SETU was established for earthquake

response, it has become important in the villages

and with other stakeholders. Because of its

unique characteristics, the establishment of

such local-based network organizations in

drought-prone areas might work well to assist

the state government to disseminate information

to local communities more effectively and effi-

ciently and, in particular, in Kachchh where

most communities live together in newly con-

structed houses after the earthquake. There is

also a need for the government to work more

closely with the Tata Consultancy Services,

which provides research assistance and extension

services. The consultancy conducts various

research into agriculture and climate change.

The research information produced by the

centre is shared with the Gujarat State Disaster

Management Authority for planning and distri-

bution to farmers for various interventions.

3.7. Agricultural policies in Gujarat

Although farmers administer their farms, they

operate within the broader political context. The

354 Mwinjaka, Gupta and Bresser

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government has been active in assisting farmers

since the economic recession of 1920 and formu-

lates policies and programmes such as the pro-

vision of subsidies, guaranteed prices and disaster

relief (Ilbery, 1985; Bradshaw and Smit, 1997).

The literature (e.g. Found, 1971; Body, 1984;

Bowler, 1985; WCED, 1987; de Wit, 1988;

OECD, 1989, 1993; Abler and Shortle, 1992;

Sopuck, 1993; Tweeten, 1995; Anderson and

Strutt, 1996; Lewandrowski et al., 1997; Potter

and Goodwin, 1998) argues that government pol-

icies do not reduce the environmental impacts of

agricultural activities but may, in fact, aggravate

the impacts through subsidies on pesticides and

herbicides. This has influenced policy within

the World Trade Organization that promotes

reform, the removal of subsidies and market liber-

alization internationally (Bradshaw and Smit,

1997). These trends (regulation, deregulation

and liberalization) and their impacts on pro-

duction, the environment and farmers have

been the focus of recent scholarly literature.

However, these ignore the fact that the funda-

mental relationship between government pol-

icies and environmental degradation is more

complex, and that while the removal of certain

subsidies may be environmentally and economi-

cally efficient, it may not be socially justified.

Interviews with key informants and farmers

reveal that there are several policies that assist

farmers in coping with extreme weather events

and climate variability. These include the Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund, launched in

1995/1996; the Kisan Credit Card Scheme,

which was introduced in 1998/1999 to facilitate

short-term credit to farmers; and the National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme, which was intro-

duced in 1999/2000 to provide cover against

losses on account of natural calamities (this last

scheme covers all food crops, oilseeds, and

annual horticulture and commercial crops).

There is also a pilot scheme on seed crop insur-

ance that was launched in 1999/2000 to provide

cover to seed breeders/growers in the event of a

failure of seed crops (TERI, 2003) and income

stabilization programmes that are all part of the

National Agricultural Policy of 2000.3

Interviews reveal that some schemes are

working well while others are not. Local farmers

and key persons indicated that their existing

coping strategies are mainly influenced by gov-

ernment policies. For example, most farmers par-

ticipate in labour-intensive schemes such as road

construction.

Traditional risk management practices such

as fodder storage, keeping bullocks, applying

FIGURE 2 Illustration of disaster information management. K-Link: Kachchh Local

information Kendra; SETUs: cluster-level community facilitation centres; TCS: Tata

Consultancy Services; GSDMA: Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority

Source: Key informant 4 and Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan (NGO), Bhuj, Kachchh district.

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat 355

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farmyard manure and land preparation are increas-

ingly less common. Farmers perceive that in

addition to changing weather patterns, limited

access to credit, lack of extension offices, lack of

information and crop insurance, depletion of

ground water and salt intrusion are the causes of

their current vulnerability, along with several

other external factors such as improper subsidies,

the high prices of agricultural inputs and lack of

clear policies (see Figure 3).

3.8. Inferences

The above analysis leads to the following infer-

ences. First, drought is a serious issue for

Gujarat, and an elaborate institutional frame-

work has been set up at the central, state and dis-

trict level to provide early warning and to support

farmers in times of crises. The advantages of this

framework are (a) its inter departmental charac-

ter; (b) its multi level governance character reach-

ing from the central government to the district

level; (c) the regularity of official meetings

during the potential drought seasons; and (d)

the elaborate set of programmes and instruments

at the disposal of the government and the

obvious prioritization to drought.

Second, the programmes also have a number of

weaknesses: (a) the reactive strategies of the gov-

ernment, while useful for coping with changing

weather patterns, have not taken into account

the structural demands that climate change will

make on policy responses; (b) the strategies tend

to be paternalistic and top-down and the links

down to the farmer level are relatively poor –

using discussions with and inputs from farmers

to develop policies appears to be a less common

strategy; (c) while some programmes such as the

income stabilization programme and the pro-

vision of loans are seen as successful, the

poorest farmers with no or low credit ratings do

not benefit from loans and insurance schemes;

(d) the dissemination of information and

awareness-raising practices are poor, which

reduces the ability of farmers to adopt ex-ante

FIGURE 3 Farmers’ views on government interventions

356 Mwinjaka, Gupta and Bresser

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adaptation measures; (e) technological assist-

ance, weather monitoring and research inputs

are less easily available to poor farmers, even

though at the state and central government

level there is access to considerable information

and technology; (f) furthermore, most govern-

ment programmes (e.g. income stabilization pro-

grammes) are short-term, ex-post adaptation

measures that help farmers in times of drought.

However, these programmes do not focus on

structural solutions to build the resilience of the

poorest farmers to cope with such drought; ex-

ante adaptations, such as improving water man-

agement practices, institutional support and

technological development such as research on

hybrids and drought-resistant crops and pro-

vision of climate information, are not taken into

account.

4. Response strategies of farmers andinfluence of state policy

4.1. Introduction

Farmers in Gujarat have long faced critical water

shortages; climate change will likely further

exacerbate the situation. Farmers thus have a

record of trying to cope with these shortages.

This section provides some anecdotal stories of

how farmers cope with variability, before discuss-

ing the instruments they adopt to deal with cli-

matic variability.

4.2. Anecdotes reflecting response strategies

A farmer4 from Morgan village explained that

farmers used to store seeds and corn traditionally

in their homes. However, the earthquake in

Gujarat destroyed their storage facilities and the

new structures that have since been built did

not take storage into account. Thus, the knowl-

edge and practice of how to store is being lost.

Another farmer from Ner village5 in Kachchh

explained that bullocks are essential on farms

because they help to prepare the land for

agricultural purposes. However, during times of

drought, poor farmers bring their bullocks to gov-

ernment or other private ranches where the

animals are taken care of. However, they have to

pay for this care. If the drought is severe and no

income is generated, farmers are not able to

raise the resources to redeem their bullocks.

They thus lose their bullocks, and the following

season they are in a worse position to farm effec-

tively and are caught in a spiral of poverty.

A farmer from Amarsar village6 explained that

although there are relief works where farmers

get paid for the services they render, this only

benefits those who can work on these relief

works and those with ration cards. Another

farmer7 from Bhandari village explained that irri-

gated farms are generally small, and because

insurance premiums are calculated per hectare,

they have to pay relatively low premiums and

their outputs are high. Rain-fed farms are larger

and the premiums are higher even though the

productivity is lower. A villager from Amarsar

village8 explained that such insurance is

only paid out when there is general crop failure

from drought. But if there are other reasons for

crop failure on one farm, the insurance does not

pay out; therefore, no farmer in that village has

insurance. In Kabrau village, farmers9 noted that

there is an increase in pests and diseases, and

they think this has to do with changing weather

patterns.

4.3. Change in traditional rain-fed farmingpractice

Owing to weather events and other social reasons,

there have been a number of changes in agricul-

tural practice that have made farmers more vul-

nerable. Table 4 summarizes the changes that

have taken place in recent years.

4.4. Response strategies used by farmers

Interviews reveal that almost all the adaptation

strategies mentioned in the literature are also

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mentioned in state policy documents. Figure 4

shows the coping measures used by Gujarati

rain-fed farmers in the case study district.

Among them, different planting dates, changing

from farming to non-farming activities and parti-

cipating in income stabilization programmes are

the most used strategies. Other measures that

are partly or somewhat used include soil conser-

vation techniques, moving to different areas,

the use of weather information, planting differ-

ent crops, drawing down or selling investments,

and defining land-use and tenure rights. The

TABLE 4 Changes from traditional practice in agriculture in Kutchch

No. Traditional practice Change

1 Previously farmers kept bullocks and carried out all farming

operations with the help of the bullock. This made the land

preparation process efficient.

As poor farmers increasingly lose their bullocks, the

efficiency of their farming practices decreases and also their

resilience.

2 Farmers used to prepare the fields and construct the bunds

and fences after Holi to avoid the scorching summer. In the

summer they did the ploughing, which helps to reduce soil

erosion and conserves the moisture of the first rainfall.

Nowadays farmers work on drought relief work until the

summer. They do not go in the field to carry out summer

ploughing until first rainfall and so they lose the ability to

harness the first rains. In the meanwhile, the unrepaired

bunds and the barren soils are vulnerable to wind and water

erosion.

3 The availability of the bullock implied that farmers could start

sowing operations right after the rainfall. The sandy soil of

Kutchchh becomes wet and dry rapidly so that timely and

regular seed sowing is a must.

However, with reduced availability of bullocks, farmers have

to hire a tractor for sowing. After the onset of the first rain, the

farmers start competing for the few available tractors which

pushes up the price of the tractors and delays the sowing

process. Keeping the right seed rate is difficult because of

the high and varying speed of the tractor, which causes either

over or under utilization of seeds. This makes it difficult to

have the right plant population.

4 Farmers were regularly applying farmyard manure in the

fields to maintain the soil fertility and also improve the

physical condition of the soil and improve the water-holding

capacity in the soil.

Farmer without bullocks has to buy chemical fertilizers which

further deteriorate the land.

5 Bullock keeping was facilitating regular inter-cultivation

operations to remove weeds and to reduce the evaporation

loss from the soil through capillary action. Because of this

farmers were able to get at least some production even in low

rainfall years.

Sowing operations are now taken over by tractor. In the

absence of bullock, operations like inter-cultivation are not

possible. Hence, the crop cannot survive during a moisture

stress period, which finally results in crop failure.

6 Farmer’s livelihood requirement influenced crop selection.

First preference was given to edible crops and traditional

varieties of crops were used for cultivation; seed

conservation techniques were used to conserve traditional

seeds. Local seed varieties were preferred because of their

resilience under harsh climatic conditions and their ability to

survive droughts and long dry spells during two successive

rainfalls. Crops like pearl millet, green gram, moth bean and

cluster bean were used for sowing during the kharif season.

Over a period of time the choice of crop has changed.

Farmers prefer crops that give higher economic return. Such

crops are mainly non-edible and their biowaste cannot be

utilized as fodder for cattle, like castor and sesame. The

increased failure rate of traditional varieties due to prolonged

moisture stress and long maturity period led to the

introduction of the hybrid variety; hence, in the absence of

fertilizer and moisture stress, these varieties are failing to

produce, like pearl millet, castor, etc.

358 Mwinjaka, Gupta and Bresser

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remaining adaptation measures are hardly used,

including crop insurance, modernization of

farm operations, permanent migration, adoption

of technology, increasing market efficiency, and

promoting trade and investment.

4.5. Inferences

Poor farmers use some mechanisms more than

others. The most popular measures (different

planting dates, changing from farming to

non-farming activities and participating in

income stabilization programmes) are possibly

effective, economically efficient, easy to

implement and compatible with government pol-

icies. Another contributing factor is the improve-

ment of infrastructure since the recent

earthquake, which has enabled farmers to travel

and undertake non-farming activities as well as

participate in income stabilization programmes.

Other measures (such as soil conservation tech-

niques, moving to a different area, use of weather

information, planting different crops, drawing

down investments, and defining land-use and

tenure rights) are less popular because of poor gov-

ernment support, since the poor farmers have little

influence and no capital to invest in these

measures while government has access to the

research and information required.

The anecdotal stories and the changed prac-

tices of farmers show how increasing vulner-

ability to droughts has led to the loss of bullocks

and how this has had a spiralling effect on pro-

ductivity. The poor with a low credit rating and

large and unproductive lands are unable to

access credit and the multi-purpose insurance

they need in order to become more resilient.

5. Conclusions

This article set out to understand how policy

makers and farmers in the state of Gujarat are

coping with existing drought situations and

whether they will be in a position to cope with

the more harsh impacts of climate change in the

future. It presented a variety of adaptation

options listed in the literature and then examined

the policy framework in India and Gujarat and

the situation of poor farmers. The following

conclusions can be drawn.

First, Gujarat has a long experience in

dealing with drought situations. The exacerbated

FIGURE 4 Coping measures used by farmers

Adaptation strategies of the poorest farmers in drought-prone Gujarat 359

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drought situation of the last few years and other

factors (e.g. the last severe earthquake), however,

have further marginalized poor farmers and

many of their existing adaptive practices. If the

government in this region is to successfully help

the poorest farmers cope with the potential

impacts of climate change, structural long-term

proactive ex-ante assistance is necessary, as

opposed to ad hoc, short-term drought relief. The

latter will help them survive, and the former will

help them out of the poverty cycle. The existing

policy framework has many strengths that are

interdepartmental and has a multilevel govern-

ance character, regular meetings in the drought

season and a variety of instruments at its disposal,

and might be the basis on which to build a stronger

more adaptive framework.

Second, although the government framework

takes rainfall patterns into account, it does not

explicitly deal with climate change. Nor does it

take into account how existing rainfall patterns

affect the lives and livelihoods of farmers and

their farm animals. As such, government policies

tend to be based on a partial understanding of

how to craft effective policies that can enhance

the resilience of people to cope with impending

impacts of climate change.

Third, the government does not appear to have

made effective links with the research, monitor-

ing and technological institutes in order to be

able to provide tailor-made (not universal) rec-

ommendations to farmers on how they may be

able to help themselves.

Fourth, while a number of policy instruments

are available to help the poorest farmers access

funds and food during droughts through the

state’s food for work programme, access to credit

and insurance are not available for them.

A key question is: What are the barriers to effec-

tive policies in Gujarat? Although this was not

focused on in the research, one can speculate

that the sheer size of the populations affected,

the degree of resources needed and the relatively

poor communication infrastructure may have

been reasons affecting such adaptation policy.

However, with increasing national income and

access to information technology, many of these

barriers may be overcome in the future, if there

is political will.

The four conclusions above lead us to make the

following recommendations. The policy frame-

work of the federal and state government may

be strengthened by a permanent working group

on needs assessments of the poorest farmers.

The needs assessments will probably differ from

village to village and from state to state. Such a

needs assessments group will be better able to

evaluate the combined effect of state policies

and weather impacts on poor farmers and hence

make relevant suggestions about how better

policy instruments should be crafted. For

example, our limited research shows that a key

priority for poor farmers is to find ways to get

their bullocks back after the period of drought,

or that small-scale credit schemes should be pro-

vided to farmers even without a good credit

rating in order to help them develop a good

credit rating in the future. Second, a detailed

downscaling of the impacts of climate change

on agricultural productivity at local scale within

India is badly needed in order to be able to

devise ex ante policy, which we think is necessary

to build up the resilience of the people and enable

them to further develop. Third, a working group

should translate farmer needs in terms of

research, monitoring and technology into a

research agenda for the agricultural research

organizations of India and communicate research

results back to policy makers. Finally, a key weak-

ness in the system is communicating and trans-

lating the available information in a usable form

for farmers. It might be the main task of a

working group to find ways of communicating

how farmers can advance their own interests

while adapting to the possible impacts of

climate change. Such a group could collaborate

with local communities in the manner of SETU.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from

the Netherlands Ministry of Spatial Planning

and the Environment; the Water Mill Project;

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support from the NGO Kutch Nav Nirman

Abhiyan based in Kutch, Gujarat; financial

support from the Netherlands Organization of

Scientific Research VIDI project on International

and Private Environmental Governance: Sustain-

able Development, Good Governance and the

Rule of Law (contract number 452-02-031); and

the European Commission-financed Adaptation

and Mitigation (ADAM) Project (contract

number 98476); and support from the Nether-

lands Environmental Assessment Agency to

UNESCO-IHE for research on the relation

between climate change and water management

in general and this research in particular.

Notes

1. Key informants include one government official,

two academicians, one researcher, one indepen-

dent consultant and two non-governmental

organizations.

2. SETUs: Established on the third day after the 26

January 2001 earthquake with support from UNDP.

During the relief phase, 33 sub-depots were formed

as facilitating cluster centres to ensure effective

coordination in the earthquake-affected areas

between community, NGOs, government, experts

and aid agencies. During relief and rehabilitation,

33 SETUs covered 468 villages. Since 2002, 18 SETUs

cover 360 villages in six talukas (blocks) of Kutch.

They have a workforce of 112 members in all and

are guided by an eight-member Governing Board.

3. The National Agriculture Policy aims to attain, over

the next two decades, a growth rate in excess of

4 per cent per annum in the agricultural sector.

This growth should be resource-efficient, equitable,

demand-driven and sustainable. The policy expli-

citly recognizes that agricultural growth should

cater to domestic markets and maximize benefits

from exports of agricultural products in the face of

the challenges arising from economic liberalization

and globalization (MoA, 2000).

4. Interview 2008: F 18.

5. Interview 2008: F 110; see also F 62.

6. Interview 2008: F 62.

7. Interview 2008: F 74.

8. Interview 2008: F 68.

9. Interview 2008: F 88, F 68.

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