IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i16p6598-d399136.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Role of Information in Farmers’ Response to Weather and Water Related Stresses in the Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Uthpal Kumar

    (Water Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Saskia Werners

    (Water Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Sharmishtha Roy

    (Environmental Science Discipline, Life Science School, Khulna University, 9208 Khulna, Bangladesh)

  • Sadia Ashraf

    (Environmental Science Discipline, Life Science School, Khulna University, 9208 Khulna, Bangladesh)

  • Long Phi Hoang

    (Water Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Dilip Kumar Datta

    (Environmental Science Discipline, Life Science School, Khulna University, 9208 Khulna, Bangladesh)

  • Fulco Ludwig

    (Water Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Farmers in the lower Bengal Delta around the city of Khulna, Bangladesh, are particularly vulnerable to hydro-climatic variability. Phenomena such as heavy rain, drought and salt intrusion increasingly affect their crop production, with far-reaching socio-economic and environmental impacts. Reliable hydro-climatic information service received in a timely manner could help farmers improve their responses to hydro-climatic variability, thus improving their agricultural decision-making. However, significant challenges persist regarding information uptake and the role of information from the available sources. We designed an explorative research framework combining different participatory methods and analysis of climate data. Our aim was to examine three key research questions: (i) what information is currently available to farmers for agricultural practices and decision-making? (ii) what is the perceived quality of the available hydro-climatic information in response to water and weather related stresses? (iii) how does the available information influence farmers’ decision-making? We found that farmers had access to information from five main sources: informal contacts, formal contacts, education and training programs, traditional media (like television) and modern ICT tools/social media. However, informal contacts, particularly with peer farmers and private input suppliers, were the farmers’ main source, in addition to their own previous experiences. Farmers perceived hydro-climatic variability as high and the quality of available hydro-climatic information as poor. They indicated a need for more accurate, time-specific, trusted and actionable information for improving agricultural decision-making. We conclude that there is high potential and need for hydro-climatic information services tailored for farmers in the study area.

Suggested Citation

  • Uthpal Kumar & Saskia Werners & Sharmishtha Roy & Sadia Ashraf & Long Phi Hoang & Dilip Kumar Datta & Fulco Ludwig, 2020. "Role of Information in Farmers’ Response to Weather and Water Related Stresses in the Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6598-:d:399136
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/16/6598/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/16/6598/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carla Roncoli & Christine Jost & Paul Kirshen & Moussa Sanon & Keith Ingram & Mark Woodin & Léopold Somé & Frédéric Ouattara & Bienvenue Sanfo & Ciriaque Sia & Pascal Yaka & Gerrit Hoogenboom, 2009. "From accessing to assessing forecasts: an end-to-end study of participatory climate forecast dissemination in Burkina Faso (West Africa)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 92(3), pages 433-460, February.
    2. Tadesse, Getaw & Bahiigwa, Godfrey, 2015. "Mobile Phones and Farmers’ Marketing Decisions in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 296-307.
    3. Surabhi Mittal & Sanjay Gandhi & Gaurav Tripathi, "undated". "Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile Phones on Indian Agriculture," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 246, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    4. Ingram, K. T. & Roncoli, M. C. & Kirshen, P. H., 2002. "Opportunities and constraints for farmers of west Africa to use seasonal precipitation forecasts with Burkina Faso as a case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 331-349, December.
    5. Islam, A.S. & Attwood, S. & Braun, M. & Kamp, K. & Aggarwal, P., 2013. "Assessment of capabilities, needs of communities, opportunities and limitations of weather forecasting for coastal regions of Bangladesh," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40278, April.
    6. Jean-Paul Chavas & Salvatore Di Falco & Felice Adinolfi & Fabian Capitanio, 2019. "Weather effects and their long-term impact on the distribution of agricultural yields: evidence from Italy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(1), pages 29-51.
    7. Salvatore Di Falco & Felice Adinolfi & Martina Bozzola & Fabian Capitanio, 2014. "Crop Insurance as a Strategy for Adapting to Climate Change," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 485-504, June.
    8. Al Masud, Md. Mahedi & Gain, Animesh K. & Azad, Abul Kalam, 2020. "Tidal river management for sustainable agriculture in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta: Implication for land use policy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Seo, S. Niggol, 2010. "Is an integrated farm more resilient against climate change? A micro-econometric analysis of portfolio diversification in African agriculture," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 32-40, February.
    10. M. Islam & Mehedi Hasan, 2016. "Climate-induced human displacement: a case study of Cyclone Aila in the south-west coastal region of Bangladesh," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(2), pages 1051-1071, March.
    11. M. Mondal & M. Rahman & Nandan Mukherjee & Hamidul Huq & Rezaur Rahman, 2015. "Hydro-climatic hazards for crops and cropping system in the chars of the Jamuna River and potential adaptation options," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(3), pages 1431-1455, April.
    12. Martina Bozzola & Emanuele Massetti & Robert Mendelsohn & Fabian Capitanio, 2018. "A Ricardian analysis of the impact of climate change on Italian agriculture," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 45(1), pages 57-79.
    13. M. Rezaul Islam & Mehedi Hasan, 2016. "Climate-induced human displacement: a case study of Cyclone Aila in the south-west coastal region of Bangladesh," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(2), pages 1051-1071, March.
    14. Nazmul Huq & Jean Huge & Emmanuel Boon & Animesh A.K. Gain, 2015. "Climate change impacts in agricultural communities in rural areas of coastal bangladesh: A tale of many stories," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/217954, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Muhammad Kabir & Ruslan Rainis, 2015. "Adoption and intensity of integrated pest management (IPM) vegetable farming in Bangladesh: an approach to sustainable agricultural development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 1413-1429, December.
    16. Jenny C. Aker, 2011. "Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(6), pages 631-647, November.
    17. Katharine Vincent & Andrew J. Dougill & Jami L. Dixon & Lindsay C. Stringer & Tracy Cull, 2017. "Identifying climate services needs for national planning: insights from Malawi," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 189-202, February.
    18. Nazmul Huq & Jean Hugé & Emmanuel Boon & Animesh K. Gain, 2015. "Climate Change Impacts in Agricultural Communities in Rural Areas of Coastal Bangladesh: A Tale of Many Stories," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-24, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Man, 2023. "Adaptation to expected and unexpected weather fluctuations: Evidence from Bangladeshi smallholder farmers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samira Shayanmehr & Shida Rastegari Henneberry & Mahmood Sabouhi Sabouni & Naser Shahnoushi Foroushani, 2020. "Climate Change and Sustainability of Crop Yield in Dry Regions Food Insecurity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-24, November.
    2. M. Rezaul Islam, 2021. "Water, sanitation and hygiene practices among disaster-affected char land people: Bangladesh experience," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 107(2), pages 1167-1190, June.
    3. Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso & Xu Tian & Xianhui Geng, 2020. "Rethinking Food Production: Nexus of Mobile Phones and Production Cost Minimization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Birthal, Pratap S. & Kumar, Shiv & Negi, Digvijay S. & Roy, Devesh, 2015. "The Impact of Information on Returns from Farming," Policy Papers 345005, ICAR National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP).
    5. Komali Kantamaneni & Louis Rice & Komali Yenneti & Luiza C. Campos, 2020. "Assessing the Vulnerability of Agriculture Systems to Climate Change in Coastal Areas: A Novel Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Md. Zonayet & Alok Kumar Paul & Md. Faisal-E-Alam & Khalid Syfullah & Rui Alexandre Castanho & Daniel Meyer, 2023. "Impact of Biochar as a Soil Conditioner to Improve the Soil Properties of Saline Soil and Productivity of Tomato," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Martina Bozzola & Robert Finger, 2021. "Stability of risk attitude, agricultural policies and production shocks: evidence from Italy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(3), pages 477-501.
    8. Nazmul Huq & Antje Bruns & Lars Ribbe & Saleemul Huq, 2017. "Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services Based Climate Change Adaptation (EbA) in Bangladesh: Status, Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Chris Knudson & Zack Guido, 2019. "The missing middle of climate services: layering multiway, two-way, and one-way modes of communicating seasonal climate forecasts," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 171-187, November.
    10. Coderoni, Silvia & Pagliacci, Francesco, 2023. "The impact of climate change on land productivity. A micro-level assessment for Italian farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    11. Buddhika Patalee & Glynn T. Tonsor, 2021. "Weather effects on U.S. cow‐calf production: A long‐term panel analysis," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 838-857, October.
    12. Marie Lassalas & Sabine Duvaleix & Laure Latruffe, 2024. "The technical and economic effects of biodiversity standards on wheat production," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 51(2), pages 275-308.
    13. M. Rezaul Islam, 2018. "Climate Change, Natural Disasters and Socioeconomic Livelihood Vulnerabilities: Migration Decision Among the Char Land People in Bangladesh," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 575-593, April.
    14. Mohammad Assaduzzaman & Tatiana Filatova & Jon C. Lovett & Frans H. J. M. Coenen, 2023. "Gender-Ethnicity Intersectionality in Climate Change Adaptation in the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, February.
    15. Kamiche Zegarra, J. & Bravo-Ureta, B., 2018. "Are users of market information efficient? A stochastic production frontier model corrected by sample selection," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275870, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Sabrina Auci & Donatella Vignani, 2020. "Climate variability and agriculture in Italy: a stochastic frontier analysis at the regional level," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(2), pages 381-409, July.
    17. Mohammad Abdul Quader & Amanat Ullah Khan & Matthieu Kervyn, 2017. "Assessing Risks from Cyclones for Human Lives and Livelihoods in the Coastal Region of Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, July.
    18. Dilshad Ahmad & Malika Kanwal & Muhammad Afzal, 2023. "Climate change effects on riverbank erosion Bait community flood-prone area of Punjab, Pakistan: an application of livelihood vulnerability index," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9387-9415, September.
    19. Sarah Alexander & Ezana Atsbeha & Selam Negatu & Kristen Kirksey & Dominique Brossard & Elizabeth Holzer & Paul Block, 2020. "Development of an interdisciplinary, multi-method approach to seasonal climate forecast communication at the local scale," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 2021-2042, October.
    20. Kabbiri, Ronald & Dora, Manoj & Kumar, Vikas & Elepu, Gabriel & Gellynck, Xavier, 2018. "Mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector: Are farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa connected?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 253-261.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6598-:d:399136. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.