Climate Change Knowledge Assessment for Farmers in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh: Test Development and Validation

Abstract

An assessment of climate change knowledge is important to understand farmers' knowledge. There are several tests available to measure it, but they are all dispersed, making the study tedious. The present study, conducted in 2022-23, aimed at developing a composite climate change knowledge test that would aid in the amalgamation of various aspects to holistically study climate change such as farmers’ knowledge of climate change; climate change extreme events knowledge (rainfall, temperature, relative-humidity, drought and so on); and adaptation strategies. Initially, items from diverse literature were collected and discussed with specialists. A total of 63 items were selected. At two levels, the knowledge item was judged and screened. For the first level of screening, 63 items were sent to 100 experts for review. 39 items were chosen for item analysis based on the opinions of 60 experts. These 39 items were distributed to 60 non-sample farmers for second-level screening. The difficulty and discrimination indexes were calculated using the item analysis score. Items with difficulty index of 0.30 to 0.80 and discrimination index of 0.25 and higher were chosen. Following that, 29 items were selected for the final climate change knowledge test for farmers. Finally, the split-half method reliability of the test was 0.85. The developed knowledge tool aids in identifying knowledge gaps and planning the future policy for better adaptation. Furthe, enhancing farmers' knowledge can also help them solve problems more effectively and with a more optimistic outlook when dealing with the challenges posed by climate change.