Impact of Climate Change on Food Security in South-West Coastal Region of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study was carried out during March to April 2010 to identify the impacts of climate change on food security in context of southwest coastal region of Bangladesh and to address appropriate strategies to overcome it. Multistage sampling technique was adopted to select the households. Four villages of 3 unions of Dacope upazila were selected purposively from 9 upazilas of Khulna district. Twenty households were taken from each selected village. The heads of households were taken as the respondents to carry out the survey. Collected data were analyzed to identify percentage, mean, standard deviation, standard error of mean using statistical software SPSS 16. The study demonstrated the sources of income in two time periods: 2010 and 2003. In 2003, 62.5% of the respondents were engaged in agriculture, followed by 22.5% in fisheries, and 5% in small business. There happened a drastic change in income sources due to compulsion by climate change. In 2010, share of agriculture was drastically declined to 47%, whereas, fisheries increased to 27% and similarly, share of small business and day laborer increased to 7% and 5% respectively. Study revealed that cyclone resulting 89% respondents to shortage of drinking water, followed by 75%, 65%, 50%, and 42% to food shortage, property loss, homeless, and decreased production respectively. Most of the respondents were unable to fulfill their daily needs as there was a gulf of differences between the income and expenditure of the people of the study area reflecting the extent of misery of coastal lives. Alternative livelihood adaptation practices such as cultivation of vegetables on floating bed, multi cropping, salt tolerant crop or cultivation of beans, gourds and other vegetables on embankment’s surrounding should be adapted.