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

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location of the study.

Table 1. Characteristics of Representative Villages in the study.

Study site −1: Sangamner, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Village name	Characteristics	Demographic Profile (%)
Jawale Baleshwar	Located in the Upper catchment of Mula River, Over exploited groundwater resources, Slight soil erosion, Relatively far from market centre	1027 HH, (FC- 52%; ST- 47%), Landless – 1%, Small and Marginal – 70%, Medium and Large –29%
Khandgedara	Located in Middle catchment of Mula river, Groundwater status safe, Moderate soil erosion, Relatively far from market centre	301, (FC- 70%; ST- 30%), Landless – 9%, Small and Marginal – 41%, Medium and Large –50%
Borban	Located in Lower catchment area of Mula river, Over exploited groundwater resources^a, Severe soil erosion, near market centre (Ghargaon)	812 (OBC- 85%; ST- 15%), Landless – 0%, Small and Marginal –100%, Medium and Large 0%
Study site −2: Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Kachner Tanda 1	Located in Upper catchment area of the Godavari, Groundwater status is safe, Far from market centre (Adul town at a distance of 13 km)	268, (VJNT −100%), Landless – 4%, Small and Marginal – 68%, Medium and Large – 28%
Aurangabad Kachner Tanda 3	Located in Upper catchment area of the Godavari, Groundwater status is safe, Far from market centre (Adul town at a distance of 16.5 km)	177; (VJNT - 100%), Landless – 21%, Small and Marginal – 55%, Medium and Large – 24%
Paithan Wanjarwadi	Located in Upper catchment area of the Godavari, Ground water status is safe;Accessibility to Market (4.1 km)	271; (FC- 89%) Landless – 4%, Small and Marginal – 53%, Medium and Large – 44%

Note: HH= Households, FC – Forward Caste, OBC- other backward caste, ST – Schedule Tribe, VJNT- Vimukthi Jathi Nomadic Tribes (Banjaras).

^aSource:Groundwater Surveys Development Agency, Government of Maharashtra.

Figure 2. Analytical Framework of CoDriVE-PD Tool.

Table 2. Number of focus group discussions with different categories of farmers and social groups.

Categories of farmers	No.of FGDs	Villages	Composition
Large farmers	1	Jawale Baleshwar	Homogeneous groups of Forward Caste category (Maratha)
	1	Kandgedara	Homogenous group -Forward Caste category (Maratha)
Medium farmers	2	Wanjarwadi,	100% Homogenous group of Forward Caste (Rajputs)
	1	Kachner Tanda 1	100% Homogenous group VJNT Banjaras
	1	Kachner Tanda 3	100% Homogenous group VJNT Banjaras
Small and marginal Farmers	1	Wanjarwadi	100% Homogenous group of Forward Caste (Rajputs)
	1	Kachner Tanda 1 & 3	100% Homogenous group VJNT Banjaras
	1	Jawale Baleshwar	Heterogenous groups of both Forward Caste category (Maratha) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) category (Mahadev Koli), approx 50% representation of both social groups
	1	Kandgedara	Heterogenous groups of both Forward Caste category (Maratha) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) category (Mahadev Koli) but 60% presence of FCs
	1	Borban	Homogenous group of Backward caste category (namely Mali community)
Women	8	All 6 villages	All caste groups mixed
Total number of FGDs	19
Indepth Interviews	2	Aurgangabad	Bank managers – of a local nationalized banks
	1	Aurgangabad	Govt. officers who handle schemes for SC/ST communities and agriculture
	1	Sangamer	Local agriculture officers

*in some villages additional FGDs needed to be conducted again to reconsolidate certain findings

Table 3. Climate risks and responses by different farmer categories/Social groups

Climatic Risks	General responses	Specific Responses –Large and Medium farmers	Specific Responses –Small and Marginal farmers
Rainfall related: Unseasonal, Reduced monsoon rainfall and Prolonged dry spells, Delayed onset of monsoon, High Intensity Rainfall, Reduction in total monsoon	Increased use of pesticides and fertilizers Dependence on Government scheme Increased visits to hospitals Re-sowing, Higher seed rates /acre	Increased expenditure on health care for dairy cattle Unsustainable abstraction of water (bore wells) Use improved crop production technologies Access Schemes to support high value crops Increased focus on milk production	Dependence on Markets and Public Distribution System for food needs Preventive on health care for small ruminants (VJNT-Banjaras) Depend on unskilled wage work Use of drip irrigation (Large farmers- BC-Malis) Deepening of wells (VJNT-Banjaras) Shift to food cum fodder crops (VJNT -Banjaras)
Temperature related: Warmer winters, reducing number of cold days in winter, Increasing temperature in summer	Use seeds from different seed companies Depend on middle men Increased dependence on markets to meet food shortages Increased expenses on human heath care Purchasing drinking water	Choose other commercial crops (Aurangabad only) Early harvest of cotton Change crop production practices Increased usage of fertilizers to ensure productivity. Reduction in number of dairy cattle (Rajputs /Banjaras) Purchased fodder from market Investing in new wells and and drip irrigation	Sell sick animals at lower prices Seek out to non farm livelihoods Use of farm yard manure (VJNT –Banjaras) Reduction in dairy cattle (Rajputs/Banjaras only) Increased semi intensive goat husbandry (VJNT-Banjaras) Integrating crop and livestock farming, (VJNT-Banjaras) Shift from commercial crops to food crops; Leave agricultural lands fallow temporary migration Building drinking water troughs for livestock (VJNT-Banjaras) retained bullocks to support agriculture (VJNT-Banjaras)