Effectiveness and upscaling potential of climate smart agriculture interventions: Farmers' participatory prioritization and livelihood indicators as its determinants

Adaptation to climate change is crucial to achieve food security and sustainable agricultural development. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on climate action urges to combat climate change impacts that are more pronounced in developing countries and on marginal & small farmers. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) that jointly addresses food security and sustainable agriculture systems has been emphasized, still adoption of CSA practices is low demanding a framework for location specific identification, prioritization and upscaling of CSA interventions. Present study is contemplated to prioritize and upscale climate smart agriculture interventions in climatically vulnerable coastal and non-coastal ecosystems based on perceived effectiveness and upscaling potential by farmers. It also attempts to delineate the livelihood indicators of farmers influencing perceived effectiveness of CSA and its upscaling potential. Farmers' participatory framework to prioritize CSA interventions in most climatically vulnerable coastal and non-coastal ecosystems of India, where National Innovations on Climate Resilience Agriculture (NICRA) programme of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been implemented. Farmers have prioritized CSA interventions on the basis of four pillars of CSA giving maximum weightage to income followed by productivity, resilience, and mitigation in both coastal and non-coastal regions. While judging upscaling potential of CSA interventions, coastal district farmers have given highest weightage to technical feasibility followed by synergy with Govt. plans, cost of technology and gender inclusivity; contrastingly, highest weightage is given to cost of technology followed by gender inclusivity, technical feasibility and synergy with Govt. plans by the farmers of non-coastal district. Micro level stratifications of dominant livelihoods and their differential preferences for CSA interventions (like scientific technology, institutional innovations, indigenous technical knowledge and information & communication technologies interventions) are unraveled. Climate smart agricultural production technologies prioritized are mainly resistant crop varieties & livestock breeds, intercropping, water management and vaccination of livestock; farmers have also preferred adaptation through indigenous technical knowledge to build resilience. However, adequate institutional infrastructures and use of ICTs are less than sufficient which needs strengthening. The major determinants of CSA effectiveness and upscaling potential in terms of farm livelihood indicators are revealed through multiple regression and path analyses. This approach would be helpful for future policy advocacy to prioritize and upscale location specific CSA interventions so as to insulate farmers better from the climatic adversities in similar ecosystems of other developing countries.