Adaptation Strategies of Women Rice Farmers in Karnataka: A Critical Perspective on Climate Change

Rice is a staple crop in India. However, climate change has a considerable impact on rice production at many growth phases. On the other side, agricultural practices also contribute to about 30 percent of overall greenhouse gas emissions. 18 percent of the total methane is emitted from rice fields. Hence agriculture is both a victim of and a contributor to climate change. Women, especially in poverty, bear a disproportionate burden from climate change consequences. Further, they are major contributors in rice farming. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the adaptation of women rice farmers to climate change through an ex-post facto research design. The study encompassed 120 respondents from two districts in Karnataka. The findings indicated that majority of women farmers exhibited a medium level of adaptation to climate change (53.33%) followed by low (30.00%) and high (16.67%) adaptation. Understanding the profile characteristics of farmers and identifying factors influencing their adaptation emerged as key challenges in this study. Conducting more result demonstrations for showing the worth of improved varieties and technologies to women farmers and increasing the number of female extension officers to ensure higher participation by the women farmers can enhance their adaptation to climate change.