Psychometric Analysis of Climate Risk Perception among Farmers in Flood- and Drought-Prone Regions of the Indo-Gangetic Plains

The agricultural sector is highly vulnerable to climate change, which is increasingly disrupting soil systems in India by altering their physical, chemical, and biological balance and affecting nutrient dynamics. These changes contribute to land degradation, reduced soil fertility, impaired plant growth, and declining agricultural yields. Farmers’ perception of climate variability plays a critical role in shaping the adoption of adaptation strategies. This study was conducted in the climatically sensitive zones of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) to assess farmers’ perception of climate-related risks, focusing on floods and droughts. A multi-stage sampling approach was employed, and data were collected from 240 respondents. A Likert-type summated rating scale was used to develop a climate risk perception scale. The study applied the Mann-Whitney U test to examine gender differences in perception. The results indicate that a significant proportion of respondents demonstrated medium to high perception scores for both flood (76.67%) and drought (74.17%) risks, highlighting these hazards as highly disruptive, unpredictable, and damaging to livelihoods. Male respondents exhibited higher climate risk perception than females across both ecosystems. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing climate knowledge, addressing gender disparities, and promoting community engagement to strengthen adaptive capacity. Strengthening these dimensions is essential for developing resilient agricultural systems capable of coping with climate-related hazards in vulnerable regions such as the IGP.