Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Agriculture in District Faisalabad Punjab

Abstract

Climate change significantly affects global agricultural systems, requiring adaptation techniques to alleviate its negative consequences. Agriculture constitutes the second biggest sector and is the backbone of Pakistan's economy, contributing considerably to the country's Gross Domestic Product at 19.3%. Increasing temperatures, erratic precipitation patterns, and severe weather events provide substantial difficulties to crop yield, water accessibility, and overall agricultural efficiency. These alterations undermine conventional agricultural methods and jeopardize food security. Climate change adversely affects agriculture by diminishing crop yields, exacerbating water shortages, altering insect and disease dynamics, and causing soil degradation. The primary crops farmed in the Punjab province include wheat, maize, and sugarcane. This study aims to analyze the socio-economic features, production costs, productivity restrictions, and marketing challenges of crops among small, medium, and large-scale farmers. The research conducted in the Faisalabad district of Punjab. Increasing temperatures can expedite evaporation rates, resulting in drought conditions and water scarcity for crops. Alterations in precipitation patterns can lead to flooding or extended droughts, both of which can severely impact agriculture and cattle. This study aims to assess how people in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, cope with and adapt to extreme weather events as well as the effects of changing climates on livelihoods and agriculture. The importance of agriculture in the study area and its vulnerability to threats associated with climate change will be taken into consideration. The study gathered primary data via a questionnaire survey administered to 250 farmers, utilizing a random sample method. The data were analyzed with PLS-SEM models.