Climate-resilient agricultural ploys can improve livelihood and food security in Eastern India

Agricultural practices naturally interject greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere; consequently, analyzing decadal variation in N2O, CO2, and CH4 is indispensable over a major rice cultivating area (West Bengal) in subtropical India. Analysis of EDGAR data shows an unremitting increase in GHGs in the study region over two decades. The increasing global warming makes us revisit climate-resilient strategies to mitigate the risk of climate change on paddy production in agrarian economies. However, adapting to these strategies and impact assessment is necessary to comprehend their productiveness and further policy recommendation. Therefore, this study identifies the determinants of adaptation and measures the impact of these strategies on farm performance (yield and net income) and food security of smallholder paddy farmers in India. We used primary data from 612 paddy farmers from 20 villages in the Hooghly district, West Bengal, India. The study used probit regression analysis to identify adaptation constraints and Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) to determine the change in the direction and magnitude of the determinants of adaptation strategies. The study also used the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach to estimate the causal impact of climate adaptation on paddy yield, net income, and food security. Probit model outcomes identified that education level, cooperative membership, access to extension services, and institutional credit adoption positively and significantly impacted climate change adaptation across smallholders. MLR analysis identified that the direction and magnitude of the discussed determinants changed with different combinations of adaptation choices. The PSM results estimated that adaptation of climate-resilient strategies impacted paddy productivity, net income, and food security positively and significantly. In addition, paddy farmers using a more significant number of climate adaptation strategies experienced better yield, revenue, and food security than those farmers using fewer adaptation strategies. Graphical Abstract