The Determinants of Farmers’ Perceived Flood Risk and Their Flood Adaptation Assessments: A Study in a Char-Land Area of Bangladesh

Md Omar Faruk and Keshav Maharjan
Additional contact information
Md Omar Faruk: International Economic Development Program, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8529, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: Floods are the most frequent and devastating disasters in Bangladesh. The riverine islands, known as char-lands, are particularly vulnerable to flooding. As flooding poses a significant threat to the lives and livelihoods of residents, especially farmers, it is crucial to understand how they perceive flood risk and assess their adaptation strategies in this geographically susceptible context. However, the existing literature has not adequately addressed these issues. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the factors influencing farmers’ perceptions of flood risk and their assessments of flood adaptation. In a survey of 359 farmers in Bangladesh’s char-land region, located in the Chauhali sub-district (Upazila) of Sirajganj district, we used the protection motivation theory (PMT) to measure farmers’ perceived flood risk and adaptation assessments. Multiple regression analysis was employed to identify factors influencing them. Farmers prioritized the risk to livelihoods (production and income) over psychological aspects (health and diseases). Larger farms, more flood experience, and greater risk awareness are associated with higher overall flood risk perception and better flood adaptation, indicating higher self-efficacy, response efficacy, and response cost among farmers. Farmers perceived lower flood risk in exchange for greater house distance from the river and more trust in government actions. Hence, strengthening campaigns and programs is crucial to understanding flood risk in char-lands for improved adaptation to floods. The study highlights the application of PMT to assess farmers’ perceptions of flood risk and their attitudes towards adaptation, suggesting further research opportunities.

Keywords: farmers; flood; char-land; perceived risk; adaptation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13727/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13727/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13727-:d:1240063

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().