Farmer,s awarness, perceptions, adaptation and adaptation issues towards the climate change: A study from district Nankana Sahib of the Punjab, Pakistan

Keywords: climate change, awareness, perceptions, adaptation issues, agriculture
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Climate change is a severe global threat. Pakistan being an agro-based economy is at threat due to the global climatic changes. The country is sensitive to both increases in temperature and changes in precipitation. These could increase vulnerabilities for agriculture, forest, and water resources upon which depend a large part of the economy and livelihoods. The study explores awarness, farmers' perceptions about climate change, current adaptation practices, and the adaptation issues. For this purpose 180 randomly selected farmers were surveyed from the rural aresa of district Nanakana Sahib. Results showed that the majority of the respondents were aware of climate change. A majority about eighty percent of the respondents said that climate change has adversely affected agriculture productivity. Overall 39% of the farm households adapted their farming to climate change. Deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, the fossil fuel industry, and land-use patterns have all been perceived to be major causes of climate change. The findings also show that adaptation to climate change is hampered by a number of variables in the research area, including a lack of information, a lack of funds, resource limits, and a lack of irrigation water. The study's findings suggested the need for more investment in farmer education and a better institutional framework for climate change adaptation in order to increase farmers' well-being.