Flood hazards adaptation strategies: a gender-based disaggregated analysis of farm-dependent Bait community in Punjab, Pakistan

Climate change has increased the frequency of natural hazards significantly in the consecutive occurrence of floods and drought in the current era. These hazards adversely affected specifically the livelihood of the farming community. This study tried to identify the factors affecting adaptation strategies of floods used by male and female household farmers in the Bait area of Punjab, Pakistan, by using primary data for empirical analysis. Focus group discussion, in-depth interviews and key information of respondents were used for the collection of primary data. Data comprised a total sample size of 293 respondents including 139 males and 154 females. Findings of the study indicated schooling years, training, age, agricultural labor, farming experience and access of agricultural land significantly affect adaptation strategies of farmers. In the empirical analysis, both regressions illustrated the goodness of fit of the model. Female model with values of higher adjusted R2 exposed that factors integrated with the female model are more critical for flood adaptation strategies rather than the male model. Schooling years, access to agricultural land and agricultural labor were more significant factors in both groups according to estimates of regression. Agricultural land access and schooling years were highly significant factors for female as compared to male for adopting the adaptation strategies regarding floods. The government needs to form fair and equitable regulations specifically for female regarding schooling access, land ownership, land access, land use, promoting off-farm income opportunities, more remunerative adaptation strategies and less labor-intensive farming practices for these flood hazards areas for minimizing hazards losses and enhancing farming efficiency.