Responses of rural livelihood with limited access to water resources: a case from water-scarce region of West Bengal, India

Secure access to water provides incentives for farming activities and positively affects rural livelihood base, whereas insecure access to water hinders the socioeconomic status and livelihood of most of the poorest. Agriculture, as a primary source of rural livelihood, is inherently sensitive to variability and driest events of rainfall, which demand reliable access to water. However, persistent water scarcity can significantly undermine access reliability of water resources. The paper aims at addressing how rural inhabitants compose their livelihood with their limited access to water. This study was intended to analyze the differential impacts of rainfall variability and regional water accessibility on rural livelihoods, considering a C.D. block in Puruliya district (also called Purulia district) of the Indian state of West Bengal. Using household level response data, access to water for irrigation and rural livelihood impacts and adaptation strategies have been analyzed among different household groups. In this regard, we apply Kruskal–Wallis H test and Chi-square test to find out whether there are significant differences or not on households’ responses to their livelihood toward variability and driest events of rainfall and low access to irrigation. Significant differences were found in terms of livelihood impacts among different socioeconomic groups. Findings reveal that household level responses on access to irrigation and adaptive initiatives on its practices significantly vary among different household groups. This study also unveils that households, partly or solely dependent upon agriculture, pursued various livelihood strategies and estimated results exposed significant differences among different household groups in their on-farm and off-farm adaptation practices.