Abstract:
Climate change is inevitable and will continue into next century. Since the agricultural sector in
Sri Lanka is most vulnerable to climate change, a thorough understanding of adaptive measures is
important for formulating eff ective policy decisions. This study provides an overview of the status
of climate change and adaptation in the paddy sector in Anuradhapura District. Proportionate
sampling was done and total of 100 households were studied. 36% of the farmers had the education
up to tertiary level. 72% of respondents heard the term “climate change”. The relative importance
of adaptation strategies to climate change was analyzed and found that increased use by insuring
farm against risk was ranked fi rst and thus most important, among farmers’ adaptive strategies
to climate change. Use of supplementary reservoir for water storage, shift to shorter cycle crop
varieties and planting improved rice varieties were identifi ed as the second-ranked adaptation
strategy. The shifting of harvesting period was ranked as the last one.
The shifting of harvesting period was ranked as the last one. T test results showed a signifi cant
diff erence (p<0.01) in the total amount paddy production among those who had chosen to use
traditional and cultural knowledge and those who didn’t choose. It is recommended that government
must ensure that a climate change sensitive program is established in paddy cultivation that can be
eff ective in future climate change scenarios
