Farmer's perception and adaptation to climate change through agriculture in the dry zone area of Myanmar | |
| Author | Lwin Maung Maung Swe |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-12-13 |
| Subject(s) | Climatic changes--Myanmar Crops and climate--Myanmar |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement s for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-12-13 |
| Abstract | Climate change, global wide environmental issue has been threatening more and more for the entire world including Myanmar. Agriculture sector is the most vulnerable sector to climate change impacts especially in Dry Zone. On one hand, a griculture is the major income source in Dry Zone which is mostly challenged by climate change because most of farmers rely solely on rainfall which has become erratic in recent years for their cultivation. Moreover, farmers are the first actors confrontin g the climate change and farming system change (Li et al., 2010). Traditional knowledge can provide efficient, appropriate and time - tested ways of advising and enabling adaptation to climate change (UNFCCC, 2007). Thus, locally adapted practices are studie d as the starting point in developing new strategies for adaptation to climate change. This study attempted to explore current agricultural adaptation strategies especially based on rural farmers’ perception and their behaviors responding to climate change through household survey, informants interview and group discussion. Accordingly, uneven rainfall distribution and increasing temperature were predominantly highlighted as prominent climatic changes while deforestation was pointed out as major attribution of climate change in Dry Zone. In last two decades, water scarcity due to uneven rainfall distribution caused to change major cropping pattern in Dry Zone. Although farmers tried to adapt that severe water scarcity by introducing War - So - Pe which could pro duce rather high yield, many production barriers were apparent together with good yield. In this case, by individually and participatorily, farmers adapt existing problems by reactive adaption measures. However, farmers revealed that current strategies are not satisfactory enough to overcome upcoming impacts of climate change. Subsequently, Dry Zone farmers proposed to have some supports like accurate and regular basic broadcasting of weather related information, efficient and effective agricultural techniq ues for weed, pest and disease controls. Therefore, this study pointed out the technical needs of farmers when it implicates for ongoing works concerned with climate change through documenting existing adaptation measures in agricultural sector of Myanmar. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-12-13 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ebbers, Theo;Jourdain, Damien |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |