Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds

Muralikrishnan, Lakshmanan; Padaria, Rabindra N.; Choudhary, Anil K.; Dass, Anchal; Shokralla, Shadi; El-Abedin, Tarek K. Zin; Abdelmohsen, Shadi A. M.; Mahmoud, Eman A.; Elansary, Hosam O.

doi:10.3390/su14010006

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds

by

Lakshmanan Muralikrishnan

^1,†,

Rabindra N. Padaria

¹,

Anil K. Choudhary

^2,3,*,†,

Anchal Dass

²

,

Shadi Shokralla

⁴,

Tarek K. Zin El-Abedin

⁵,

Shadi A. M. Abdelmohsen

⁶,

Eman A. Mahmoud

⁷

and

Hosam O. Elansary

^8,*

¹

Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India

²

Division of Agronomy, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India

³

Division of Crop Production, ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla 171001, India

⁴

Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

⁵

Department of Agriculture & Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture (El-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt

⁶

Institute for Research and Community Services, Sam Ratulangi University, Manado 95115, Indonesia

⁷

Department of Food Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta 34511, Egypt

⁸

Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010006

Submission received: 18 November 2021 / Revised: 12 December 2021 / Accepted: 17 December 2021 / Published: 21 December 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agrifood Production and Conservation Agriculture)

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Abstract

Periodic drought is a major challenge in drought-prone areas of South Asia. A sample survey of farmers (n = 400) from South Asia was conducted to study the farmers’ perception about drought impacts on their socio-economic status, agro-biodiversity, and adaptation besides public institutions’ drought mitigation measures. The results revealed reduced surface and groundwater availability, soil degradation, partial or complete crop failure, increased agricultural fallows and wastelands, biodiversity loss, decrease in agricultural yields, pasture lands, and livestock in drought-impacted South Asia. About 16–26% of the farmers perceived a reduction in the agricultural area and production of commercial crops and millets in drought-prone areas, while changes in the cropping of pulses, oilseeds, horticultural, and fodder crops were minimal. About 57–92% of respondents showed a reduction in the consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and fish. Unemployment, migration, reduced farm income, and malnutrition were major socio-economic impacts among respondents (38–46%). Despite sufficient public support as a mitigation strategy, the farmers had poor participation (8–65%) for agri-information and adaptation (7–36%) against drought impacts. Hence, researchers, extension agents, and policymakers must develop efficient ‘participatory-mode’ drought adaptation and mitigation policies in watershed-based semi-arid pastoral and agricultural regions of South Asia and similar agro-ecologies across the globe.

Keywords: climate change; drought; watersheds; pasture; livestock; socio-economic impact; adaptation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Muralikrishnan, L.; Padaria, R.N.; Choudhary, A.K.; Dass, A.; Shokralla, S.; El-Abedin, T.K.Z.; Abdelmohsen, S.A.M.; Mahmoud, E.A.; Elansary, H.O. Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds. Sustainability 2022, 14, 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010006

AMA Style

Muralikrishnan L, Padaria RN, Choudhary AK, Dass A, Shokralla S, El-Abedin TKZ, Abdelmohsen SAM, Mahmoud EA, Elansary HO. Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds. Sustainability. 2022; 14(1):6. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010006

Chicago/Turabian Style

Muralikrishnan, Lakshmanan, Rabindra N. Padaria, Anil K. Choudhary, Anchal Dass, Shadi Shokralla, Tarek K. Zin El-Abedin, Shadi A. M. Abdelmohsen, Eman A. Mahmoud, and Hosam O. Elansary. 2022. "Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds" Sustainability 14, no. 1: 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010006

APA Style

Muralikrishnan, L., Padaria, R. N., Choudhary, A. K., Dass, A., Shokralla, S., El-Abedin, T. K. Z., Abdelmohsen, S. A. M., Mahmoud, E. A., & Elansary, H. O. (2022). Climate Change-Induced Drought Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Semi-Arid Pastoral and Agricultural Watersheds. Sustainability, 14(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010006

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