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Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation in South Asia

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Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

Abstract

The chapter elaborates the adaptation initiatives undertaken by farmers in South Asia, and advocates the need for strong policies to support agricultural adaptation. It elicits the farmers’ perceptions and adaptation measures toward climate change and extent of adaptation through computing an index and supports strong extension and policy initiatives to enhance agricultural adaptation for combating food insecurity. It has identified the fact that rises in temperatures, decreases in rainfall, and frequent incidences of pests and diseases are the common perceptions of farmers toward climate change, both for drought and floods. Adaptation measures practiced by farmers’ for drought are buying insurance, change in planting dates and planting times, work as labor, and construct water harvesting structures. For floods, early sowings, saltwater spray for harvested paddy stalks, strengthening of riverbanks, and improved drainage are the adaptation measures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Transfer of Technology Section, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Santoshnagar, Saidabad P.O., Hyderabad, 500 059, India

    K. Ravi Shankar, K. Nagasree, G. Nirmala & M. S. Prasad

  2. VNMKV, Parbhani, 431 402, Maharashtra, India

    B. Venkateswarlu

  3. CRIDA, Hyderabad, 431 402, India

    Ch. Srinivasa Rao

Authors
  1. K. Ravi Shankar
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  2. K. Nagasree
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  3. G. Nirmala
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  4. M. S. Prasad
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  5. B. Venkateswarlu
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  6. Ch. Srinivasa Rao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Ravi Shankar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

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Shankar, K.R., Nagasree, K., Nirmala, G., Prasad, M.S., Venkateswarlu, B., Rao, C.S. (2015). Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation in South Asia. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38670-1_50

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