Climate Change Impact on Paddy Farming in Erode and Tiruchirapalli Districts of Tamil Nadu

Climate change implies both direct and indirect impact on the general well-being of the people in the rural community such as agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihood security. A study was conducted on the small and marginal paddy farmers of Tamil Nadu. A sample size of 200 paddy farmers was selected from the districts of Erode and Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Findings revealed that paddy farmers perceived climate change impacts includes five major components viz. crop nature, pest incidence, disease menace, water crisis and agro climatic status. It was found that farmers were much aware of the variations in rainfall pattern and its distribution followed by variability in temperature and changes in wind speed and direction. Receipt of low rainfall was found to be the most pertinent issue