Understanding vulnerability to climate variability and change among small and marginal farmers in Odisha, India

Understanding vulnerability to climate variability and change through indicator based framework has been widely used in vulnerability analysis. This paper examines the socio-economic vulnerability of farmers exposed to drought conditions and climate variability in one of the highly vulnerable state, Odisha in Eastern India. Intensive survey was undertaken among 183 households in two districts to collect data on various socio-economic and livelihood indicators. Data were aggregated using a composite index and vulnerability in four villages was compared. Results suggest that caution is warranted in terms of the assumption that we make about adaptive capacity. A higher adaptive capacity of the communities does not necessarily imply that they are less vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and change and vice-versa. We found that highly vulnerable villages to climate risks are also the ones involved in various adaptation actions in agriculture. The findings suggest that different component of vulnerability index should not be analyzed independently of disaggregated indicators with different underlying causes. Finally, results demonstrate the importance of diversified livelihoods in managing risks associated with climate hazards.