Climate Change Impact: Evidences from Agriculture and Food Security in Coastal Areas in Khulna Region, Bangladesh

At present, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable to climate risk. It has been facing a boundless threat in the sector of agriculture and food security. Climate change adaptation policies are professed as a key sustainable development vision for Bangladesh. Being an agricultural country, climate change mostly affects the agricultural sector, damages crops, reduces the productivity and has the adverse impact on GDP. It is high time to introduce climate change adaptation and for this it’s necessary to know the impact of climate change. This paper aims to assess and forecast the impact of climate change in agriculture and food security of Koyra and Paikgachha Upazila, Khulna. Almost 300 native and key stakeholders have been surveyed to collect the primary data (i.e. productivity, income, land, profit or loss and types of crops, etc.). Secondary data (i.e. temperature, wind, humidity, rainfall, salinity, coastal flood, tropical cyclone, deforestation) have been collected from government and non-government organizations like Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), etc. Geographic Information System (GIS) related software like-ArcGIS and several statistical software (IBM-SPSS) etc. have been used for analyzing and forecasting. Yet it has been found salinity and cyclone Aila was the most impactful factors in this case. Perceived Knowledge on Climate Changes (getting warmer, increasingly erratic rainfall, and increase in the risk of crop failure) as Observed by respondents in climate was 78%, 62% and 35%. By forecasting 300 respondents in the study area, the number of landless farmers will be 28.50% and the food insecurity respondents number will be 176 in 2050. In the future, this research will help to provide innovative & technical solution for the adaptation of climate change in agriculture and food security aspects in the coastal areas