An assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in South Asian agriculture

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to synthesize the impacts of climate change on agriculture and assess the status of policies, programs and strategies to adapt small farm holders to climate change in South Asia. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected secondary information through a desktop review of policy documents, action plans and published reports. Face-to-face interviews with policy makers, agriculture and climate experts representing the government, non-governmental organizations, international development agencies and the private sector were also conducted to validate the secondary information. Findings The results revealed that agriculture is the dominant economic mainstay providing livelihood to over 70 per cent, employing 60 per cent of the labor force and contributing about 22 per cent of the regional gross domestic product. Climate impacts, such as floods, sea level rise and salt intrusion, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and pests combined with increasing water scarcity continue to reduce arable land, reduce yield of crops and threaten the food security of farmers. Adaptation efforts include using improved varieties of crop; changing cropping patterns and planting seasons; and water conservation techniques. However, progress remains low because of a lack of adequate technical knowledge and financial resources. Originality/value The amount of published literature on climate change and its impact on agriculture is increasing, but there is little effort to analyze and document impacts and strategies to adapt small farm holders to climate change at a landscape level, particularly in South Asia. This study fills in this gap and will serve as a valuable source of information for those wishing to conduct research or develop adaptation strategies for any of the four countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.

Climate change and agriculture in South Asia: adaptation options in smallholder production systems

“…Even a relatively modest warming of 1.5-2 °C in SA can severely impact the availability and stability of water resources due to increased monsoon variability and glacial meltwater, thereby threatening the future agricultural productions (Vinke et al 2017). With its impact on agricultural production and natural resources, climate change will bring greater fluctuation in crop production, food supplies, and market prices and will aggravate the situation of food insecurity and poverty in South Asian countries, which adversely affects the livelihoods of millions of people in the region (Schmidhuber and Tubiello 2007;Bandara and Cai 2014;Shankar et al 2015;Wang et al 2017;Aryal et al 2019b). It is projected that food price changes between 2000 and 2050 are 2.5 times higher for major food crops (e.g., rice, wheat, maize, and soybean) and 1.5 times for livestock products (i.e., beef, pork, lamb, and poultry) with climate change (Nelson et al 2009).…”

“…The average total economic losses are projected to be 9.4% for Bangladesh, 6.6% for Bhutan, 8.7% for India, 12.6% for the Maldives, 9.9% for Nepal, and 6.5% for Sri Lanka. Since agriculture provides livelihood to over 70% of the people, employs almost 60% of the labor force, and contributes 22% of the regional gross domestic product (GDP) in SA (Wang et al 2017), these losses of GDP will have major consequences in agriculture-dependent communities in the region (Ahmed and Suphachalasai 2014). Therefore, improved understanding of impacts of climate change in agriculture and the adaptation practices to cope with these impacts are essential to enhance the sustainability of agriculture and to design the policies that reduce poor farmers' vulnerability to climate change in SA.…”

Assessing Barriers and Opportunities for Ecosystem Based Approach to Adaptation in High Altitude City of Thimphu

“…Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA): Adaptation is an adjustment in natural and human systems, which occurs in response to actual (autonomous adaptation) or expected climate changes or their effects (anticipated adaptation) or planned activities supported by policy decisions (planned adaptation), in order to reduce harm or exploit benefits (IPCC, 2007). Adaptation to climate changes is expected to reduce the degree of sensitivity, exposure, and danger through adaptive measures (Wang et al, 2017).…”

“…Given its variation in elevation, topography, and altitude, in a relatively limited area, Bhutan climate varies from humid and subtropical on the southern plains and the foothills to temperate in the Himalayan valley and alpine in the higher mountains. The climate is hot and humid in the southern foothills, with temperatures ranging from 15 o to 30 o C throughout the year and precipitation between 2,500mm and 5,550 mm (Wang et al, 2017 The inner Himalayas, which rise to 3,000m, constitute, with their broad valleys, the economic and cultural heartland of the Kingdom. The inner Himalayas are characterized by a cool temperate climate with annual average precipitation of 1,000 mm.…”

Representations of Colombian Andean farmers on climate change and mitigation and adaptation strategies

“…Multiple factors in the agricultural sector are associated with climate change and range from the elevation movement of crops in search of better weather conditions (Rodríguez de Luque et al, 2016) to the emergence of new opportunities in high latitudes for agricultural business for rural workers (Peltonen-Sainio et al, 2016). One of the effects caused by the increase in temperature and the reduction in precipitation is related to the decrease in crop yields and product quality (Rodríguez de Luque et al, 2016;D'Agostino & Schlenker, 2016;Esperbent, 2017;Lachaud et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2017;Nendel et al, 2018) of agricultural products in vulnerable rural regions.…”