This study of the nature and extent of livelihood vulnerability of farm households in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India, involved the computation of livelihood vulnerability indices and indices of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity for different social communities. The empirical findings reveal that farmers belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities were relatively highly exposed and sensitive to climate change and least able to adapt. In this light, several policy recommendations are proposed to improve the livelihood security of vulnerable groups.

Indian farmers are vulnerable to changing climate with unpredictable rainfall distribution, rising temperature, and complex socioeconomic conditions. The present study aims to assess livelihood vulnerability of farmers in two regions of the most populous State of Uttar Pradesh namely Bundelkhand and Central region. By using multistage random sampling technique, a total of 480 samples from 16 villages, 8 development blocks, 4 districts, and 2 regions were selected to elicit grass-root information on farmers’ perception of climate change, their sensitivity and adaptive capacity to changing climate, and determinants of livelihood vulnerability. Further, this study has adopted methodology mentioned in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth Assessment Report for the development of climate vulnerability index. The results show that farmers in Jhansi district were highly vulnerable to changing climate, while farmers in Barabanki district were relatively less vulnerable. The elevated degree of vulnerability to livelihood in Jhansi district attributed to its comparatively higher exposure and sensitivity to climatic change. The Binary Logistic Regression results show that illiterate farmers are relatively more vulnerable than literate farmers. On the contrary, higher income, assured irrigation, the use of certified seeds, and crop insurance are negatively associated with the LVI. In other words, farmers who have income from non-farm sources, use certified and recommended seed varieties, and avail themselves of crop insurance are relatively less vulnerable to climate change than those who do not have the aforesaid facilities. Hence, the present study suggests that farmers, must adapt to climate change to reduce its negative impact and reap the benefits of adaptation which can be achieved through capacity building, skill development (i.e., use of ultra-modern techniques), and capacity to strengthen the farmers’ ability to adapt. Further, there is also a need to sensitize government officials on the dangers of climate change and to provide appropriate technical support to farmers for their adaptation.

The present study has attempted to examine the livelihood status of nine agro-climatic zones (ACZs) in the State of Uttar Pradesh in India. The United National Development Programme’s (UNDP) methodology has adopted to develop a practical, innovative and ready-to-use sustainable livelihood security index (SLSI) for different ACZs. A total of 84 rational indicators were employed that covered seven dimensions of livelihood security, i.e. infrastructure security, agricultural sustainability, economic security, social security, food security, environmental security, and health security. The quintile estimation was also employed to identify low productive districts with reference to Uttar Pradesh. The performance of ACZs in terms of estimated indices for different dimensions of SLSI has also compared and ranked across developmental indicators. Study findings revealed that Bundelkhand zone has the lowest livelihood security than that of other ACZs. Least access of basic amenities, least social and health security, and higher reliance on agriculture for livelihoods were the main influencing indicators responsible for lower livelihood security in Bundelkhand zone. At the same time, better infrastructural and health facilities and least reliance on agriculture for livelihoods were main contributing indicators for the highest livelihood security in Vindhyan Zone. The present study’s findings also matched with the results of studies conducted by the Planning Commission and NITI Aayog. The policy insights from the analysis suggest the need for prioritising vulnerable and less developed ACZs to arrest regional imbalances, prevent overexploitation and to leverage the unutilised potential of the districts.