Role of Information and ICTs as Determinants of Farmer's Adaptive Capacity to Climate Risk: An Empirical Study From Haryana, India

Abstract: Using the primary data collected for 463 farmers in six districts of Haryana, India, the present study attempts to understand the constituents of farmer's adaptive capacity at local level and how it can be enhanced. We use path analysis technique using the lavaan package in RStudio to empirically test the role of information. We find that information is a direct and significant contributor to enhancing farmers' adaptive capacity. However, even with exponential growth in use of technology, particularly information and communication technologies (ICTs), small farmers still lack access to information which hinders their capacity to respond to weather and climate risks. Thus, understanding the mechanism that can facilitate exchange and use of information by the farming community more effectively is important. We take an ensemble view of ICTs operationalized using ICT ecosystem and find significant interlinkages between information, technology and the ICT ecosystem that facilitate learning and information exchange and therefore contribute to enhancing farmers' adaptive capacity and building resilience to climate shocks. We find that ICT ecosystem does facilitate access to information and also mediate the effect of farmer's capability and willingness to use ICTs for agricultural purposes. Development of sound ICT ecosystem is likely to help farmers to better respond to changing climate in the future.