Int. J. Agron. Agri. R.
International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research (IJAAR) ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print) 2225-3610 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 11, No. 5, p. 16-23, 2017 OPEN ACCESS
RESEARCH PAPER
Factors influencing adaptation of farming practices by the coastal farmers in response to climate change Md. Maruf Billah*1, Shohrab Hossain2, Kawsar Hossen3, Atiqur Rahman Bhuiyan4 Department of Agriculture, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh Article published on November 30, 2017 Key words: Adaptation, Factors, Farming practice, Climate change, Coastal farmers.
Abstract Coastal farmers are the most vulnerable in the context of climate change variability and their farming activates are being disrupted mostly due to climate change. Proper adaptation practices are supreme to ensure food security, resilience and productivity. The study was conducted to find out the factors influencing adaptation of farming practices by the coastal farmers in response to climate change. The data were collected from 120 randomly selected coastal farmers from the period of July 2017. A mixed method research approach and step wise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the factors influencing adaptation of farming practices. The findings of the study revealed that among the explanatory variables, four variables such as level of education, perception on climate change, communication exposure and agricultural training received had contributed 85% of the total variation in the extent of adaptation of farming practices, solely level of education contributed most (74.4%) cases in adaptation of farming practices followed by perception (4.6%), communication exposure (3.3%) and agricultural training (2.9%). Correlation analysis indicated that among the selected socio- economic characteristics, respondent’s education, annual family income, communication exposure, agricultural training and perception showed positive and significant relationship with the adaptation of farming practices. On the other hand, age showed negative significant relationship while household assets and credit received showed no significant relationship. * Corresponding
Billah et al.
Author: Md. Maruf Billah  marufat06@gmail.com
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R. Introduction
If these factors can be identified properly and
Bangladesh is an agro-based country and agriculture
implemented accurately, then adaptation rate can be
is the backbone of national economy. More than 47%
increased gradually and it will help the coastal
of total population is directly or indirectly involved
farmers to produce more crops. So adaptation of
with agriculture and agriculture contributes 16.5 % to its GDP while more than 52% of foreign exchange is earned from agriculture based commodities (BBS, 2016). We cannot imagine a single moment without the contribution of agriculture but it is being destroyed by various natural and man-made events. Climate change is one of those factors which are directly responsible for hampering this sector. Climate change is a statistically significant change in
farming practices is very much essential for this area for all the sectors of agriculture. Thus, in this situation it is necessary to know the factors influencing adaptation of farming practices in response to climate change and that is why this study was drawn over this area. Materials and methods
measurement of either the mean state or variability of
Locale of research and data collection
the climate for a place or region over an extended
The study was conducted in two unions namely Char
period of time due to natural variability or as a result
Jabbar and Char Jubille of Subarnachar upazila under
of human interventions (Prevention consortium,
Noakhali district (Fig. 1).
2007). Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country and country
Most of the farmers in this area are coastal, whose
experiences disasters of one kind or another (such as
livelihood depends on various farming activities. Their
tropical cyclones, storm surges, coastal erosion,
farming activities are being changed and affected due
salinity intrusion, floods, and droughts) almost every
to climate change. The area is mainly affected by
year causing heavy loss of life and resources and
salinity, sea level-rise, flood, cyclone etc. About 68% of
due
to
these
unwanted
events,
the
endangering the development activities (NAPA, 2005).
the total farmers are coastal farmers in Subarnachar upazila and around 300 coastal farmers live in each
The country is already affected with many problems
village (BBS 2012). The actual population size was 600,
like high population density, shortage of land to
out of which 20 percent population were selected from
accommodate the people, food security, human health
two villages as sample. The sample size was 120 and
and so forth. The above mentioned types of disasters
data were collected during July 2017 using structured
make the problems all the more complicated. In the
questionnaire.
conceivable future, Bangladesh is likely to be one of the most vulnerable countries of the world in the
Data collection
event of climate change. Several adaptive practices are
The sample size was 120. In order to get qualitative
regularly considered by the coastal farmers in the local
data four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were
agriculture but the relative success to overcome climatic
arranged in the study area. Each group consisted of 10
condition and temporal variations of climatic elements
participants. With a view to getting in depth
gradually making coastal people vulnerable.
information another four Key Informant Interviews
In this situation, the adaptive capacities of the coastal
(KIIs) were conducted in the study area. The
farmers need to be gradually increased to understand
qualitative data helped the researcher to design
the
its
interview schedule for the study. A personal interview
consequences over the agriculture and agriculturally
was conducted with the 120 respondents through the
based livelihoods (CEGIS, 2005). There are several
interview schedule during July 2017. The factors
factors that influence largely the adaptation of
influencing adaptation of farming practices was the
farming practices in response to climate change.
dependent variable of the study.
probabilistic
Billah et al.
climate
vulnerabilities
and
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R.
Fig. 1. Map of the study area; Subarnachar upazila under Noakhali district. The eight selected characteristics of the coastal farmers
aged while majority (41.2%) of the respondents had
namely age, level of education, household assets,
primary education. The majority (62%) of the
annual
communication
coastal farmers had low household assets and
exposure, training received and perception were the
highest portion (48.4%) of the respondents had
independent variables of this study. The factors were
medium annual income while most (43.3%) of the
identified through step wise multiple regression
respondents received low amount of credit.
income,
credit
received,
analysis of the variables. Data analysis The collected data were coded, categorized, tabulated and analyzed scientifically. The local units were converted into standard units. The qualitative data were transferred into quantitative data by appropriate scoring techniques. The SPSS computer programme was used
The study also revealed that majority (58.3 %) of the
farmers’
maintained
moderate
type
of
communication exposure for adaptation of farming practices. In terms of training received, the findings indicated that majority (45%) of the respondents received short duration training while
for analysing the data. Various descriptive statistical
majority (54.3%) of the respondents had medium
measures such as range, frequency, number, percentage,
perception on climate change and adaptation
mean, standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of
(Table 1). Billah et. al., (2015) observed similar
variation (CV) were used for categorization and
types of socio-demographic features in their
describing the variables. Pearson's product moment
research work.
correlation coefficient (r) was utilized both for data evaluation and hypotheses testing. Step wise multiple
Relationship between dependent and independent
regression analysis was done to find out the factors
variables
affecting adaptation of farming practices.
Correlation analysis shows that age of the coastal
Results and discussion Socio-demographic characteristics of the coastal
farmers were negatively significant while household assets and credit received had no significant
farmers
relationship with the farmers’ adaptation practices.
The findings of the study indicated that the highest
On the other hand, level of education, annual family
portion of the respondents (42.5%) were young
income,
Billah et al.
communication
exposure,
agricultural
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R. training received and perception on climate change
The results of the multiple regression analysis show that
were
among the explanatory variables, four variables such as
positively
correlated
with
the
farmers’
adaptation practices (Table 2). Factors influencing adaptation of farming practices in response to climate change A step-wise multiple regression analysis had been applied to identify significant explanatory variables that
level of education, perception on climate change, communication exposure and agricultural training have significant influences on the adaptation of farming practices by the coastal farmers in response to climate change.
have effects on adaptation of farming practices. Table 1. Salient features of the selected characteristics of farmers. Socio-economic variables Age (years) Young (18-35) Middle (36-55) Old (above 55) Level of education Illiterate (0) Primary (1-5) Secondary (6-10) Above secondary (Above 10) Household assets (thousand) Low (up to 200) Medium (201-500) High (above 500) Annual family income (thousand) Low (up to 60) Medium (61-100) High (above 100) Credit received (thousand) No credit (0) Low credit (up to 35) Medium credit (36-70) High credit (above 70) Communication exposure (scale score) Poor exposure (upto14) Medium exposure (15-28) High exposure (29 and above)
Agricultural trainingreceived (scale score) No training (0 days) Short training (1 -7 days) Medium training (8-14 days) Long training (above 14 days) Perception on climate change (scale score) Low (up to 10) Medium (11-20) High (above 20)
Billah et al.
(%) 42.5 38.0 19.5 19.2 41.2 35.0 4.6 62.0 30.7 7.3 43.3 48.4 8.3 26.7 43.3 21.7 8.3
Farmers (n= 120) Mean Standard deviation 42.92 11.95
5.6
3.97
99.23
57.24
75.55
45.82
27.92
30.12
26.0 58.3 15.7
20.24
7.96
35.0 45.0 16.7 3.3
3.70
4.18
15.4 54.3 30.3
17.52
5.76
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R. These four variables which finally entered in the model
that if formal education increases, the adaptation of
and contribution of these variables accounted for 85
farming practices is increased. Formal education is
percent of the total variation in the extent of adaptation
considered an important factor in increasing the
of farming practices (Table 3).
adaptation of farming practices by the coastal farmers in response to climate change. Droogers (2004) found
Level of education: The first variable to enter the step
that high level of literacy indicate high level of
wise multiple regression was level of education of the
adaptation, the educated farmers are able to read
farmers which solely had the highest contribution of
printed materials, communicate with the agricultural
74.4% in predicting the adaptation of farming
extension officer compare to illiterate farmers. Thus
practices in response to climate change. Level of
education can influence one’s extent of adaptation of
education of the farmers had a significant positive
farming practices in response to climate change.
impact on adaptation of farming practices, indicating Table 2. Correlation analysis of dependent and independent variables. Variables
Correlation co-efficient (r) Age
-0.417**
Education
0.878**
Household assets
0.068
Income
0.681**
Credit
0.115
Training
0.835**
Communication exposure
0.824**
Perception
0.879**
** = Significant at 1 percent (0.01) level (2-tailed). Table 3. Factors influencing adaptation of farming practices. Model
Combination of independent variables
Co-efficient of
Adjusted
% of increase in
determination
R2
Adjusted
F-value
t-value
Sig. level
R2 1
Constant + Education in adapting farming practices
.747
.744
74.4
323.32**
3.13
0.01
2
Constant + Education + Perception
.794
.790
4.6
243.31**
3.14
0.00
3
Constant + Education + Perception +Communication
.828
.823
3.3
179.66**
2.75
0.02
4
Constant + Education + Perception + Communication +
.858
.852
2.9
145.43**
2.63
0.00
Training
**Significant at 0.01 level of probability. Perception on climate change: The second explanatory
ADB (2009) found that farmers having proper perception
variable was perception of climate change as observed by
on climate change can select appropriate adaptation
the farmers, which contributed 4.6% in predicting the
practices properly against climate change which influence
adaptation of farming practices.
the adaptation of farming practices.
Perception on climate change had a significant positive
Communication exposure
influence on adaptation of farming practices, indicating
The third explanatory variable was exposure of
that if the perception on climate change is perceived
communication, which contributed 3.3% in predicting
properly by the farmers their adaptation capacity would
the adaptation of farming practices in response to
also be increased accurately.
climate change.
Billah et al.
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R. Exposure of communication had a significant positive
increased. Islam (2004) found that the farmers with
impact on adaptation of farming practices, indicating
enough exposure of communication had followed
that if exposure of communication increases the
more adaptation practices than others in the
adaptation of farming practices would also be
community.
Table 4. Distribution of the farmers according to the extent of adaptation. Categories
No.
Percent
Mean
SD
Low adaptation (up to15)
40
33.4
21.65
7.98
Medium adaptation (16-30)
62
51.6
High adaptation (above 30)
18
15.0
Total
120
100.0
Training received: The fourth explanatory variable was
farming practices would also be increased. Action Aid
training, which contributed 2.9 % in predicting the
(2008)
adaptation of farming practices in response to climate
training is very essential for increasing adaptation
change. Agricultural training had a significant positive
rate of farming practices in response to climate
impact on adaptation of farming practices, indicating
change.
observed
that,
appropriate
agricultural
that if exposure to training increases the adaptation of
Fig. 2. Existing adaptation practices followed by the coastal farmers. The results of the study also showed that these four
practices; but did not incorporate in the study due to
variables collectively can explain 85 percent variance
lack of time.
(Adjusted
R2
= 0.85) on the adaptation of farming
practices due to climate change which is statistically
Nevertheless,
highly significant (F = 222.87, p < 0.01). There were
suggests the need for implementing comprehensive
several other factors like awareness, migration ,
actions for the coastal farmers that may increase their
membership in cooperatives, cosmopoliteness that
adaptation of farming practices as well as improve
could contribute to the adaptation of farming
their livelihoods.
Billah et al.
the
multiple
regression
analysis
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Int. J. Agron. Agri. R. Extent of adaptation of farming practices in
The results showed that among the eight selected
response to climate change
variables; level of education, perception on climate
Results revealed that, the adaptation average of
change, communication exposure and agricultural
farming practices by the coastal farmers in response
training described 85% of total variance in
to climate change was 21.65 and standard deviation
adaptation of farming practices by the coastal
was 7.98.
farmers in response to climate change and the average adaptation score was 21.65 which were not
The majority of the respondents (51.6%) had
so satisfactory.
perceived medium adaptation while 33.4% of the respondents perceived low adaptation and only 15%
The study also revealed that the coastal farmers are
of the respondents had faced high adaptation of
using various types of high yielding and stress
farming practices in response to climate change (table
tolerant crop varieties in the farming practices
4).
while moving to non-farming activities to conduct their livelihood properly.
This means that, about 85% of the respondents had faced low to medium adaptation of farming practices.
Recommendations
Billah et al. (2015) observed that about 75% of the
Thus it may be recommended that middle to old aged
smallholder farmers had faced low to medium
farmers with proper education, agricultural training,
adaptation while 25% of the respondents perceived
good communication exposure and better perception on
high adaptation in their farming activities.
climate change can increase the rate of adaptation of farming practices in response to climate change and
Existing adaptation practices followed by the coastal
ensure
farmers
production.
better
adaptation
and
sustainable
crop
The result showed that amongst the fifteen existing adaptation practices the cultivation of stress tolerant
Adjacent to above mentioned initiatives, adequate
varieties (82%), moved to non-farm activities (78%),
technical support and proper extension services
homestead gardening (75%), short duration crops
should be ensured to the coastal farmers by GOs
(67%), find off farm job (62%) and crop rotation
and NGOS for better adaptation of farming
(61%) etc. are being practised by the coastal farmers
activities in response to climate change.
largely (Figure2). According to Smith et. el., (2002) various adaptation practices like resilient crop
So
varieties,
activities,
technologies, income generating opportunities like
agroforestry, integrated farming etc. has been widely
establishment of agro-processed industry and
used to express agricultural practices that will (1)
small cottage industry should be established in the
increase agricultural productivity and food security,
coastal area for increasing the coastal farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
(2) adapt agriculture to climate change, and (3)
income. As a result, farmers can save more money,
modify agriculture to mitigate climate change hazard.
enlarge farm size and use better adaptation
HYV
crops,
non-farm
beside
various
modern
agricultural
practices in response to climate change. Conclusion The study explored that age of the farmers is negatively
Acknowledgement
significant with the adaptation of farming practices while
I would like to give special thanks to my parents and
education, annual family income, agriculture training
better half Sirajum Monira, Shohrab Hossain, Kawsar
received, communication exposure and perception on
Hossen, Dr. Atiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, Dept. of
climate change had positive and significant relationship
Agriculture, for their continuous support throughout
and household assets, credit received had no significant
this research work and anonymous referees for their
relationship with the adaptation of farming practices in
valuable
response to climate change.
recommendations.
Billah et al.
and
constructive
suggestions
and
Page 22
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