ABSTRACT
Agricultural performance and growth are imperative to ensure the food and livelihood security of the teaming population of India. In consequence, any assessment of this security calls for an in-depth analysis of vulnerability of the agriculture sector as such. Household vulnerability is largely an outcome as well as a consequence of the macro- (country-level) and meso- (state- and district-level) vulnerability. Understanding macro- and meso-vulnerability at national, state, and district levels is key to designing development and adaptation programmes that are context-specific and locally suitable. The study employs the Livelihood Vulnerability Index of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) analytical framework to classify and rank the districts of Maharashtra across the three IPCC dimensions of vulnerability - exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The study also calculates an overall Livelihood Vulnerability Index - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chage (LVI-IPPC) index value for each of the districts. The districts are further categorised into different levels of vulnerability through a categorical ranking method of the LVI-IPCC index. The exposure index for the districts ranges from 0.23, reported for Thane, to 0.75, reported for Wardha. The sensitivity index ranges from 0.27, reported for Thane, to 0.62, reported for Amravati. The adaptive capacity ranges from 0.29 for Gadchiroli to 0.68 reported for Kolhapur. Sangli reports the lowest combined LVI-IPCC index values, while Gadchiroli reports the highest LVI-IPCC index value. Based on the categorical ranking, the districts that rank as highly vulnerable are Washim, Nanded, Nandurbar, Gondia, Wardha, Buldhana, and Gadchiroli. The districts that come out as extremely less vulnerable are Sangli, Latur, Nasik, Kolhapur, and Dhule. The study further outlines district-specific adaptation strategies that would build capacities for coping with district-specific livelihood vulnerabilities.
