Assessing differential vulnerability of communities in the agrarian context in two districts of Maharashtra, India

Climate variability causes multiple difficulties to rural poor. The loss in agriculture production is the most predominant impact among many, especially in drought-prone regions of India. Aggravating this further are the non-climatic risks like depletion of groundwater, land fragmentation, lack of post-harvest structures and disappearing and deteriorating common property resources among many others. Within this context, the current study presents how agrarian livelihoods in rural Maharashtra has been transforming to adapt to both the changing climate and non-climatic drivers. A community engaging vulnerability assessment tool was used to explore the climate risks and vulnerabilities of different social groups. Insights indicate that vulnerability is socially differentiated and across farmer categories and social groups. Caste and social standing play a significant role in access to resources, land ownership, livelihoods choices and approaches – impacting their vulnerability to climate change. The study concludes that vulnerability assessments need to be conducted at lower scales, as climate risks vary even within small clusters of villages. This understanding helps designing programmes and policies that build adaptive capacities of rural poor and thus recommends integrating community engagement into academic research is critical.