Shillong, Apr 12: Around two-thirds (67 percent) of farmers in Jaintia Hills are at risk of climate change, according to a study conducted by researchers from Mizoram University.
The study, led by Keshav Kumar Upadhyay along with Augustine Bareh, Khoisnam Vramari Devi, Lamginsang Thomte, Rajdeep Chanda, Salam Suresh Singh, Ramtharmawi, Mamta Joshi, David C Vanlalfakawma and Shri Kant Tripathi, assessed 300 farming households across 12 villages and found that nearly two-thirds of respondents fall under high to very high vulnerability categories.
The effects of global climate change are being felt across Meghalaya, which is still a largely rural state, but this study focused on Jaintia Hills. Climate data over seven decades shows a clear warming trend, particularly during the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, with both maximum and minimum temperatures rising. While rainfall trends were not statistically significant, variability has increased, contributing to frequent droughts and unstable farming conditions.
Farmers have reported declining yields of rice, maize and horticultural produce and nearly all respondents experienced crop losses, with more than 40 percent stating that such losses occur frequently, which directly impacts household incomes and food security.
Low adaptive capacity was identified as the most critical factor driving vulnerability in the region. None of the surveyed farmers had access to crop insurance, less than 20 percent had access to credit and no respondents had received training in climate-smart agriculture. Two-thirds depend entirely on the rains for their agriculture, which puts them at high risk when the rains are erratic, as is becoming a frequent problem due to climate change.
Small landholdings (on average just a fifth of an acre) and illiteracy were other problems highlighted by the study. Women farmers are particularly disadvantaged as they experience limited access to land, income and institutional support.
The study found rising temperatures as the primary driver of vulnerability, strongly linked to increased drought frequency, crop loss and income decline. The researchers found a near-direct relationship between crop loss frequency and yield reduction.
Calling for urgent intervention, the authors recommended promoting heat-tolerant crop varieties, improving water management through irrigation and rainwater harvesting, expanding access to credit and weather-based insurance, strengthening extension services with localised climate advisories and instituting gender-inclusive policies to support women farmers and improve overall resilience.
