Role of information in farmers' response toweather and water related stresses in the lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Uthpal Kumar*, Saskia Werners, Sharmishtha Roy, Sadia Ashraf, Long Phi Hoang, Dilip Kumar Datta, Fulco Ludwig

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

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 decisionmaking? (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.
Original languageEnglish
Article number6598
JournalSustainability
Volume12
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Agricultural decisions
  • Bangladesh
  • Bengal delta
  • Hydro-climatic information

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Role of information in farmers' response toweather and water related stresses in the lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this