Farmers’ Net Income Distribution and Regional Vulnerability to Climate Change: An Empirical Study of Bangladesh

Widespread poverty is the most serious threat and social problem that Bangladesh faces. Regional vulnerability to climate change threatens to escalate the magnitude of this poverty. It is essential that projections of poverty be made while bearing in mind the effects of climate change. The current study uses analysis of variance, cluster analysis, and log-normal distribution to estimate the parameters of income variability that ascertain vulnerability levels and help us understand the poverty levels that climate change could potentially incur. The analytical results show that variances of rice income contribute to the agricultural income differences. Constant reduction of rice yield due to climate change in Bangladesh is not so severe problems for farmers. However, poverty rates in Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and Rangpur region would be affected by unexpected yield loss due to climate change. Therefore, research and development of adaptation measures to climate change for regions where farmers are largely dependent on agricultural income is important