Climate Change Impact on Paddy Farming in Erode and Tiruchirapalli Districts of Tamil Nadu

Journal of Extension Education Vol. 27 No. 4, 2015 Climate Change Impact on Paddy Farming in Erode and Tiruchirapalli Districts of Tamil Nadu P. Sivaraj1 and H. Philip2 ABSTRACT Climate change implies both direct and indirect impact on the general well-being of the people in the rural community such as agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihood security. A study was conducted on the small and marginal paddy farmers of Tamil Nadu. A sample of 200 paddy farmers was selected from the districts of Erode and Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Findings revealed that paddy farmers perceived climate change impacts include five major components viz. crop nature, pest incidence, disease menace, water crisis and agro climatic status. It was found that farmers were much aware of the variations in rainfall pattern and its distribution followed by variability in temperature and changes in wind speed and direction. Receipt of low rainfall was found to be the most pertinent issue. India is a large country with 15 agroclimatic zones, with diverse seasons, crops and farming systems. For a majority of people in India, to this day, agriculture is the main stay of livelihood. Agriculture is the most vulnerable sector to climate change as it is inherently sensitive to climate variability and climate change is going to impact on Indian agriculture in different ways both directly and indirectly Agriculture is inherently sensitive to climate conditions and is the most vulnerable sector to the risks and impacts of climate change (Sagun, 2009). Climate change is the long term conspicuous deviation from usual prevailing climate bringing variations in normal temperature, rainfall and atmospheric parameters. There is an urgent need to understand the effects of climate change on agricultural sector both at global and as well as at regional levels, especially from the point of view of providing food to vulnerable section of the population. Developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change than developed countries because of the predominance of agriculture in their economies and scarcity of capital for adaptation measures (Fischer, 2005). Sinha and Swaminathan (1991) have showed that an increase of 2 o C in temperature would decrease rice yield by about 0.75 ton/ha. In this regard climate change impact especially among the small and marginal paddy farmers with limited resources is of great concern. Mohanraj and Karthikeyan (2014) reported that 92.72% perceived change in long term temperature in selected districts of Tamil Nadu. The study was conducted in the 1- Ph.D scholar, Department of Agricultural Extension and 2-Director of Extension Education, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Received : 02 Jan, 2016; Accepted : 08 Apr, 2016 5540 Journal of Extension Education Vaiyampatty block of Tiruchirapalli district (Ponnaniyar basin) and Erode block of Erode district (Kalingarayan basin) in Tamil Nadu. They were selected based on the water availability for farming situation. Seven villages in Ponnaniyar basin and eleven villages in Kalingarayan basins were selected for the study. METHODOLOGY Paddy is the staple food crop of Tamil Nadu and is heavily exposed to the extreme and extraneous events of climate change. Erode and Tiruchirapalli districts were purposively selected for the study as the district has high range of variability in both rainfall and temperature. Kalingarayan (Erode) and Ponnaniyar (Tiruchirapalli) basins were then chosen as they have maximum acreage under paddy with majority of the farmers being small (2.5 to 5 acres) and marginal (< 2.5 acres). Canal irrigation was also found to be prominent in these basins resulting in farmers becoming more vulnerable to climate change events. Based on the discussions with the officials and subject matter specialists of the agricultural department one block was selected from each basin. For the selection of villages, an inventory of revenue villages in each block was collected. Then ten villages from each block were randomly chosen. The total sample size was 200 with randomly selecting 100 paddy farmers (comprising 50 male farmers and 50 female farmers) from each of the blocks. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Impact of Climate Change on Crop Nature Climate change is clearly recognized as a major threat to agricultural system. The expected increase in temperature, atmospheric CO 2 , heavy and unseasonal rainfall, increased humidity, drought and Table 1. Impact of Climate Change on Crop Nature Sl.No. Crop nature Kalingarayan basin n=100 (n=200) Ponnaniyar basin n=100 Mean score Mean score 1. Changes in cropping system 1.980 1.970 2. Changes in harvesting time 1.990 1.950 3. Changes in crop growing season 1.900 1.790 4. Crop destruction 1.910 1.770 5. Scorching of crops in direct sown paddy 1.800 1.580 6. Scorching of crops in transplanted paddy 1.390 1.510 Average mean score 1.828 1.761 Climate Change Impact on Paddy Farming in Erode and Tiruchirapalli Districts of Tamil Nadu cyclones are likely to affect paddy crop. Hence, an attempt was made to assess the perceived impact of climate change on crop nature. It is referred from Table 1 that the average mean score of impact of climate change on crop nature in Kalingarayan basin was worked out to 1.828 where the sub items like changes in cropping system, changes in harvesting 5541 time, changes in crop growing season and crop destruction as identified with higher mean score of 1.980, 1.990,1.900 and 1.910 respectively. The mean score of other sub items fell below the average mean score. The average mean score of Ponnaniyar basin worked out for the impact of climate change on crop nature was 1.761 where the sub items like changes in cropping system, changes in Table 2. Impact of Climate Change on Pest Incidence Sl.No. Pest incidence Kalingarayan basin n=100 (n=200) Ponnaniyar basin n=100 Mean score Mean score 1. Pest outbreak 1.310 1.190 2. Arrival of new pests 1.480 1.430 3. Stem borer infestation 1.940 1.900 4. Leaf folder infestation 1.920 1.860 5. Rice mite infestation 1.340 1.280 6. Gall midge infestation 1.120 1.100 7. Thrips infestation 1.180 1.120 8. Plant hopper infestation 1.260 1.270 9. Leaf hopper infestation 1.400 1.420 10. Ear bug infestation 1.690 1.800 Average mean score 1.474 1.432 harvesting time, changes in crop growing season and crop destruction were identified with higher mean score of 1.970, 1.950,1.790 and 1.770 respectively. to drought which results in crop damage and low yield. Monsoon failure and shifting of monsoon may adversely affect the crop growing season. Study area of Kalingarayan and Ponnaniyar basin is extremely vulnerable to the vagaries. Moreover due to the erratic rainfall in quantity and distribution, the area is often subjected B. Impact on Climate Change on Pest Incidence The data presented in Table 2 reveal that 5542 Journal of Extension Edu (...truncated)