Farmer Resilience to Floods - A Post-Disaster Analysis in the Flood Plains of Kerala, India

Abstract

Extreme weather and climate events lead to substantial economic impacts, loss of lives and livelihoods, and adverse effects on human well-being and the environment. In a scenario where intensity and incidence of climate change induced extreme weather events are common, disasters will continue to be a regular phenomenon, compelling us to learn to live with it. The resilience of rural communities to weather adversities need to be explored, to cope with, adapt to disasters. In the background of the unprecedented deluge that engulfed in Kerala, the southernmost tip of India, in 2018 the study was undertaken to analyse the resilience level of the affected farmers. Although people of the state have experienced minor floods in  past years, the flood of 2018 left the people of the state wholly devastated, with the turbulent water taking away most of their assets and livelihood options. The study used the factor analysis and logit model to analyse farmer resilience. The study was conducted by selecting 120 sample farmers along the flood plains of Chalakudy river, one of the worst affected flood plains. Through factor analysis, seven factors representing eight components of resilience were identified. The analysis identified risk orientation as the highly influencing factor in building resilience. Logistic regression analysis revealed education and subsidiary occupation as having a positive influence, while family size and crop diversification index negatively influence resilience.