EFFECTS OF STRESS SEVERITY ON FARMERS’ ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES AND FOOD SECURITY: EVIDENCE FROM BORO RICE FARMERS IN THE HAOR ECOSYSTEM OF BANGLADESH

Effects of stress severity on farmers’ food security

Abstract

The Haor ecosystem is a hotspot of environmental vulnerability where natural hazards, ecological sensitivity, and livelihood dependence converge to enhance exposure to agricultural and food security problems. This study analyzed stress severity, coping strategies, and food security scenarios and their determinants among Boro rice producers in the flood-prone haor area of Bangladesh.  A multistage random sampling method was used to select 180 farmers from three haor areas: Kishoreganj, Netrokona, and Sunamganj. Descriptive statistics, index, and logit models were used to achieve the study objective. Boro rice cultivators experienced submergence as the most severe stress (CSS, 655; normalized CSS 0.91), whereas flash floods (CSS 604; Normalized CSS 0.84) and heavy rainfall (CSS 544; Normalized CSS 0.76) were the second and third severest stresses, respectively, indicating that abiotic hazards are predominant. Among the biotic factors, insects (CSS 578; Normalized CSS 0.80, rank 3) and diseases (CSS 567; Normalized CSS 0.79, rank 4) were the most severe, whereas rats (CSS 276; Normalized CSS 0.38) and birds (CSS 215; Normalized CSS 0.30) had the lowest severity. In general, the order of severity reveals that extreme pre-monsoon weather is the most harmful to Boro rice productivity. Farmers in the haor region made multiple adjustment strategies for coping with water stress caused by floods, and the creation of waterways near the field was the highest in preference (Adjustment Index = 0.000280). Drainage systems were second (0.000153) because they are functional for fast water discharge. In contrast, interventions such as setting up machinery for the early evacuation of flood water were less adopted (0.000003) owing to financial constraints and restricted practical viability. Several socioeconomic factors were significantly associated with HHFS in the study area. On the other hand, household head’s age and dependency ratio had negative significant effects on food security, while education, farm size, and access to credit all had positive and significant effect in improving food security. Off-farm income and food aid availability had no significant impact, whereas crop diversification had a weak contribution. Overall, the model had a good fit in explaining most determinants of household food security. In general, these responses revealed that farmers depend on low-cost, locally customizable waterlogging mitigation measures.