Climate change poses a profound threat to mountain agro-ecosystems, particularly in the Himalayan region of West Bengal, India, by disrupting precipitation patterns, increasing temperature variability, and intensifying extreme weather events. Despite growing evidence of climate change impacts, there remains a critical research gap in understanding how socioeconomic factors drive farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in this vulnerable region. This study examines how farmers in the Himalayan region of West Bengal, India, perceived and responded to the growing impacts of climate change on mountain agro-ecosystems. Drawing on cross-sectional data from 370 farm households selected through multistage sampling, the research employs a combination of analytical tools, including the severity index (SI) to assess farmers’ perceptions to climate change, the adaptation index (AI) to evaluate adaptive responses, the Garrett’s ranking technique to prioritize constraints, and the ordered logistic regression to identify key socioeconomic drivers of adaptation. Findings reveal a high level of climate awareness among farmers, particularly regarding the increase in weather extremes (SI=74.87%), increase in temperature (SI=72.31%), and irregular rainfall patterns and highly erratic rainfall (SI=62.52%). The most commonly adopted strategies include adopting intercropping and mixed cropping systems (AI=0.613), adoption of the integrated farming system model (AI=0.600), and shift towards non-farm employment (AI=0.608), while the adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties and improved irrigation remains limited. Regression analysis highlights that education (regression coefficient=0.38), average landholding size (regression coefficient=1.21), and access to daily weather forecast information (regression coefficient=1.92) significantly promote adaptive behaviour, whereas age (regression coefficient= –0.09) and gender (regression coefficient= –0.76) are negatively associated. Institutional constraints, particularly unavailability of institutional credit, emerge as primary barriers. The study underscores the urgent need for region-specific, inclusive policy frameworks that enhance climate advisory services, support technology dissemination, and empower marginalized groups in the Himalayan region of West Bengal. By fostering informed, equitable, and resilient agricultural systems, these strategies can significantly strengthen the adaptive capacity of mountain farming communities and contribute to sustainable development under a changing climate.
SARKAR et al. (Sun,) studied this question.