FISHERY BASED FARMERS PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN COASTAL KARNATAKA, INDIA

H.M. VINAYAKUMAR¹*, M. SHIVAMURTHY², G.S. BIRADAR³, V. GOVINDA GOWDA^4
1Department of Extension Education, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat, 388110, India
²Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, 560065, India
³Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, 560065, India
⁴Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, 560065, India
* Corresponding Author : vinayhm11@gmail.com

Received : 19-08-2016     Accepted : 21-09-2016     Published : 01-11-2016
Volume : 8     Issue : 53       Pages : 2646 - 2650
Int J Agr Sci 8.53 (2016):2646-2650

Keywords : Climate, Coastal, Farmer, Fishery, Perception
Academic Editor : Dr Gangadhar P S Khanagoudar
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Researcher is very much thankful to ICSSR for their financial assistance during the study.
Author Contribution : None declared

Fishery based Farmers in a coastal Karnataka, priorities climate variability as their primary agricultural and fishery productivity-reducing factor. This paper focuses the importance of considering local farmers’ perceptions of climate hazard, as this significantly persuade on-farm investments and decision-making. The study is evidence for farmers perceived climatic and weather patterns to have changed over the past decades; they perceived increasing trend of occurrence of drought (78.75%). Where decreasing trend of rainfall (74.17%), temperature (97.92%) and wind speed (87.08%) were valued as increasing. Discussants are familiar with long and short season rains based on the quantity of rainfall received and duration. According to their judgment, the long rains occur between July and August, while the short rains occur between October and December, leading to declined crop and fish productivity, increased drought and flood incidents and increased livestock and human morbidity and mortality. The majority of respondents had average to better perception on changing climate. The climatic data show evidence that corroborates the farmers’ perceptions.