Drought proofing strategies by farmers in Southern India
K. Palanisami and D. Suresh Kumar
Droughts are a common occurrence in semi-arid areas and their frequency and intensity is expected to increase with climate change. Based on a study of 120 farmers from four districts in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, this Highlight surveys the range of measures farmers adopt in response to droughts. The authors find that despite significant negative externalities, farmers assign higher priority to drilling new wells rather than investing in water conservation structures or demand management strategies. The authors estimate that adoption of drip irrigation and purchase of tanker water for
providing life-saving irrigation yield the highest financial returns and suggest considering reuse of municipal waste water as a drought mitigation strategy.
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