Farmers’ Adaptation Preferences under Water Scarcity: A Comparative Analysis of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Aims: To assess and compare farmers’ preferences for adaptation strategies to water scarcity in Chittur (Palakkad district, Kerala) and Pollachi North (Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu), two groundwater-dependent farming regions on either side of the Palakkad Gap. Study Design: Cross-sectional farm survey analysed using Garrett’s ranking technique. Place and Duration of Study: Chittur block, Palakkad district, Kerala, and Pollachi North block, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India, between April 2026 and May 2026. Methodology: 200 farmers (100 in Chittur; 100 in Pollachi North) ranked eight adaptation strategies. Ranks were converted to per cent positions, transformed into Garrett scores and averaged for each strategy. Agreement between regional rankings was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: In Chittur, shift to micro-irrigation ranked first (mean score 73.23), ahead of deepening of existing open wells and rebore (59.91) and digging of new open wells and borewells (59.42). In Pollachi North, deepening of existing wells and rebore (69.67), new wells and borewells (69.43) and micro-irrigation (69.20) were separated by less than 0.5 points. Water users’ association (WUA) participation ranked last in both regions (30.06 and 32.26), and the water market ranked seventh and sixth (32.85 and 33.76). Fallow land was more acceptable in Chittur (45.95) than in Pollachi North (33.75). The regional rankings were strongly concordant (Spearman’s ρ = 0.88, P = .007); no strategy shifted by more than two positions. Conclusion: Farmers in both regions favour private, on-farm responses over collective and market-based mechanisms, but Chittur farmers concentrate on micro-irrigation whereas Pollachi North farmers weigh groundwater access strategies and micro-irrigation almost equally. Support for micro-irrigation should be coupled with abstraction monitoring, recharge and institutional strengthening, rather than relying on deeper wells.