GENDER BASED VARIATIONS IN PERCEPTION OF FLOOD IMPACTS: A STUDY IN DARBANGHA DISTRICT OF BIHAR
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Date
2022
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DRPCAU, PUSA
Abstract
India is an agrarian country where many rural men and women rely on
agriculture for a living. Among the many challenges confronting Indian agriculture
today, increasing climate variability and natural disasters are the most pressing.
Reduced agricultural production is one of the most direct ways in which natural
disasters have an impact. Floods are the most expensive and widespread natural
disasters, causing up to 50,000 deaths and affecting 75 million people worldwide each
year. (FAO 2008). The evidence suggests that the effects of flooding are not genderneutral.
As a result, various gender groupings may interpret the impact of flood
differently, as well as cope with or adapt to its effects in different ways. Analysis of
gender perception of flood impacts is a prerequisite for assessing their adaptation
decisions and for avoiding gender-blind rehabilitation policies and programmes that fail
to include the gendered responsibilities of both men and women farmers. Besides, the
fact that the natural disasters have a gendered impact it is critical to understand how
men and women perceive and interpret natural disasters so as to devise and advise on
effective adaptation strategies that will secure their livelihoods. With this background,
this study entitled “Gender based variations in perception of flood impacts: A study in
Darbangha district of Bihar” has been taken up with the objective to study the gender
centric perception of impact of flood viz. - socio economic, psychological and
environmental and the gender centric adaptation strategies in the locale of study.
The investigation was conducted in the state of Bihar. Out of 38 districts in
Bihar, Darbangha was selected purposively for this research study as it tops the list of
the districts which are most severely affected by flood in Bihar. Hanumannagar and
Baheri blocks were selected purposively among the 18 blocks in Darbangha district.
Two villages were selected from each block, Godhaila and Uchauli from
Hnaumannagar block and Jhakra and Aadabon from Baheri block. So a total of 4
villages were selected for the study. From each of the four villages, 30 respondents
were selected (15 men and 15 women), thus making total sample size as 120.
The findings revealed that most of the women farmers in the study area
belonged to young age group while most of the men farmers were from middle and old
age category. Majority of the women were illiterate while most of the men had an
education level up to higher secondary and college level which indicates the education
disparity among men and women farmers of the study area. Majority of the women
belonged to scheduled caste while most men were from general caste category. Majority
of both women and men farmers had medium level of information seeking behaviour,
exposure to mass media, risk orientation, social participation, and extension contact in
the study area. Only a small percentage of women farmers had regular access to mobile
phones in the study area whereas more than half of the men farmers used mobile phones
regularly as a mass media source. More number of women farmers fell in the low
income category as compared to men farmers. Majority of the respondents practiced
farming as their primary occupation. Both men and women farmers surveyed had
marginal land holdings with women occupying a large majority as compared to men
farmers. Goat was seen to be a common livestock holding among women while cow of
local breed was popular among the men farmers. The respondents in the study area did
not possess more than 2 livestock. In the context of men and women farmers‟
perception about the socio economic, psychological and environmental impact of flood,
it can be concluded that majority of them had medium level of perception with women
having slightly higher perception of socio economic and psychological impact of flood
as compared to men whereas more percentage of men had high perception of
environmental impact of flood as opposed to women.
The findings of the study revealed that selling livestock, cultivating smaller area
than usual and changing planting date were the three prime farm-based adaptation
strategy opted by women farmers whereas men resorted to selling of livestock, farm
diversification and change in cropping pattern. As for non-farm based adaptation, the
three strategies women adopted were using their saved money, borrowing money from
friends and relatives and less consumption or changing food habits while men opted for
stocking of food grains, borrowing money from friends/relatives and using saved
money. Factors like age, household headship, decision making and social participation
had positively significant relationship with women‟s perception of psychological impact
of flood. With respect to men farmers, age and extension contact had a negatively
significant relationship with perception of psychological impact of flood while family
size had high positively significant relationship. The results further indicated that
education and annual income had a positive correlation with men‟s perception of
environmental impact of flood whereas age had a positive correlation with perception of
environmental impact of flood in case of women. Annual income and extension contact
had negatively significant relationship with men‟s perception of socio economic impact
of flood while social cohesiveness was found to be negatively correlated with women‟s
perception of socio economic impact of flood.