Climate perceptions of households and differential impacts of MGNREGA on agriculture outcomes of households in South Rajasthan
Student name: Ms Charvi Kapoor
Guide: Dr Nirupam Datta
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD)
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Hardeep Singh
Abstract: Climate change has become a global point of discussion and has gained utmost importance as it
impacts every other thing around us in the environment. It is said that climate change occurs in a
long time span and the effects can be seen in a span not less than 30 years at least but climate
variability can be seen across various regions around the globe. This study is based on rural
communities in South Rajasthan, India which falls under the South Asia region. Rajasthan is a state
which has extreme climatic variations and is classified as one of the arid regions of India. The worst
affected are the rural communities who are dependent on agriculture which is their primary
occupation, and is adversely affected by climate variability. This leads to loss of livelihoods for these
poor communities. There are many policies which act as safety nets for coping with climate
variability and can help the poor to achieve sustainable livelihoods and one of those policies is
MGNREGA. The research thesis tries to capture the climate perceptions and coping strategies of
these rural communities and impact of climate variability on agriculture production, food security
and livestock. The thesis will also find the differential impacts of MGNREGA on agricultural
outcomes for these rural communities.
Key words: climate variability, agriculture, food security, livestock, livelihoods.
