Flood Risk Management and Adaptation by Smallholder Rural Farms in India

Climate change-fueled flooding poses an ever-increasing risk around the world, especially to lower-income populations lacking in flood management resources. Damage caused by flooding is particularly apparent in South Asia, where almost a third of the population lives with significant flood risk. Economists have found that climate change has complex and often negative effects on farming, but there is comparatively less work on the impacts of flooding on agricultural production and adaptation. This study contributes novel insights into how rural populations in lower-income countries manage and adapt to flooding. In this study, satellite image-derived estimates of crop growth and flood events in India are used to look at the direct and longer-term impacts of flooding on crop yield. This study expands on previous work by Dr. Rohini Pande’s team, and illustrates that mid and late season flooding is most responsible for damage to crop yield (figure 2). Estimates of planting date, harvest date, and crop season duration were derived from satellite images and used to show that flooding intensity is correlated with delayed planting and shorter crop durations in kharif, as well as earlier planting and longer crop durations in rabi. Beyond short-term reactive mitigation of flood damage via these channels, there is evidence of adaptation to flood risk, as well as indication of reversion to the mean for villages that are consistently flooded. Many of these results are complex and merit more extensive research to understand all phenomena, but these findings provide insight into a few mechanisms of flood risk mitigation and management for smallholder farms in lower-income countries.