Climate Change and its Impact on Agriculture: A Study of Nundhaki VDC of Sankhuwasabha District

Abstract

This study attempts to find the impact of climate change on agricultural system of Nundhaki VDC, Sankhuwasabha, Nepal. The investigation includes the analysis of agricultural production system, land use system and analysis of temperature and rainfall data to identify the climate change trend and pattern from the 2005 to 2015. The analysis of mean temperature shows that, temperature is increasing about 0.3 o c in every 11 years (2005-2015). This shows that the warm days are increasing and cold nights are decreasing in the recent years. The analysis of precipitation shows that the rainfall is also decreasing. This shows that there is a slight changed in climatic parameters in every decade. Cereal crops, cash crops and vegetable production trends are considered to analyze the climate impacts. Paddy and millet yield shows the positive impact due to increasing temperature whereas production of other crops such as wheat, maize, cardamom, amriso, vegetables etc. are decreasing due to rain deficit and problems of diseases. Production system of this region is not only affected by climatic parameters but also affected by availability of natural resources and farming practices. Local people of this area are practicing in mix type i.e. mix of traditional and modern farming system and they are suffering from climate change. So to minimize this problem awareness program and capacity building program should be focused on local people. Agricultural research agencies and government of Nepal should make appropriate policy and implement properly to control the climate borne disaster in future for this region