| Pub. Date | : July, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Knowledge Management |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJKM010723 |
| Author Name | : Prabal Barua and Maitri Barua |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 31 |
One of the main causes of soil degradation is salinization which adversely affects crop productivity and threatens the livelihood of resource-constrained small-scale farmers in coastal regions that are sensitive to climate change. Building adaptation plans requires an understanding of farmers' perspectives and indigenous adaptation techniques. This study focuses on soil salinity and its effects on small-scale farmers and their responses to it. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including average and percentage, linear regression, and chi-square test. The findings demonstrated that the studied sites' soil salinity increased with time. The majority of farmers in the study areas believed that salinity had a detrimental effect on crop productivity, availability of freshwater for irrigation, cost of irrigation water, crop area, plant height, and crop size. The methods of indigenous knowledge adaptation varied depending on the locale. Surprisingly, the majority of farmers in extremely salinity-prone regions fell into the low adaptation category, whereas those in somewhat salinity-prone regions fell into the medium adaptation category. The unsuccessful adaptation to rising soil salinity may be a result of their lower educational level, small farm size, reliance on surface water, and lack of access to information and training. Therefore, all parties associated with those influencing elements should collaborate in a comprehensive effort to develop farmers' need-based, site-specific methods to solve the problem of salinity intrusion in the coastal sediments.
Climate change-related events, such as drought, cyclones, excessive precipitation, and flooding, have repercussions on rural livelihoods in South Asia's coastal regions (Dastagir, 2015; and Aryal et al., 2020). Several studies have linked drought, precipitation, and flooding to agricultural system failure (Rojas et al., 2016; Myers et al., 2017; Gould et al., 2020; and Meza et al., 2021). However, no adequate attention has been paid to the increased level of soil salinity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that soil and water salinization are increasing, notably in low-lying coastal areas, river deltas, and estuaries