Perception of Climate Change and Farmers' Adaptation: An Analysis for Effective Policy Implementation

Divergence in the actual practices and policy goals often leads to ineffective policy implementation. Shedding light on this issue, this study intends to enrich the debate on the adaptation to climate change, which includes farm-level adaptation practices in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka and enabled policies. The study involved analysing the farm level adaptation practices and the factors influencing actual adaptation practices adopted by employing a Multinomial Logit Model. The study used primary data collected from Sri Lanka Environmental and Agricultural Decision-Making Survey. The impact of perception of climate change on adaptation techniques was measured by developing an index on Climate Change Perception. The index was generated as a composite of multiple statements related to climate change by utilising Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The results revealed that cultivating other field crops and short duration seed varieties increased with climate change awareness. Further income, education, age, cost, and irrigation scheme affect choosing the adaptation practices. A comparison of climate change adaptation practices adopted by farmers with the program goals shows a mismatch between farmers’ perceptions and the adaptation practices promoted by the government. This study proposes to consider the grassroots level scenario before developing policies and that programs have to be developed and implemented based on adaptation practices preferred at the ground level.