A B S T R A C T
In the last few years, the drought has had multiple effects on all the different regions of the world, especially the rural areas, which is why people's perception of this event is very different. Perception is the strongest predictor of farmers' risk perception of climate change. Therefore, farmers' perception of drought can be vital in increasing their adoption. The general purpose of this qualitative research, which was conducted using the phenomenological method, was to investigate farmers' perceptions of coexistence with drought (definitions, experiences, memories, and expectations). The farmers of Bavi city formed the studied society. Informative people were identified through the snowball method or chain referral, which finally reached theoretical saturation after 25 interviews. The data of this research was collected through in-depth interviews and direct observation methods, and along with these two methods, taking photos and using library documents were also used. The data was analyzed based on the Colaizzi model. Based on the results, the studied farmers mentioned different understandings, definitions, experiences, risks, and expectations of drought. In such a way that after collecting the concepts, extracted categories were discussed, which were finally extracted for experiences (6 codes), definitions (3 codes), memories (5 codes), and expectations (3 codes). In general, the results of this research can provide new insights for policymakers in this field and provide a basic plan for stabilizing local communities in drought conditions
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Drought is a global phenomenon, affecting more than half the world's population. Various climates and ecosystems are affected differently, and the geographical areas affected have increased dramatically over the last four decades. In recent years, droughts have occurred on every continent, affecting large areas of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South and North America. It has received much attention because of the high social and economic costs that drought causes. Drought is the most devastating and complicated natural disaster in terms of the number of people affected worldwide. The complexity of drought may be partly explained by the fact that this phenomenon cannot be evenly distributed across regions, so each neighborhood, area, or individual may be influenced by drought to varying degrees. Therefore, the intensity of the drought and its impacts can be perceived differently. As a result of human migration, the effects of drought often extend beyond the geographical area. As drought has different impacts, diverse strategies can be applied in various regions.
Methodology
The general purpose of this qualitative research, which was conducted using the phenomenological method, was to investigate the definitions and adaptive behaviors of farmers in Bavi County in terms of drought coping. The farmers of Bavi County formed the studied society. Informative people were identified through the snowball method or chain referral, which finally reached theoretical saturation after 25 interviews. The data of this research was collected through in-depth interviews and direct observation methods, and along with these two methods, taking photos and using library documents were also used. The data was analyzed based on the Colaizzi model.
Results and discussion
Based on the results, farmers' most essential definitions of drought included water reduction, rainfall reduction, and improper rainfall distribution. In addition, the adaptation behaviors of farmers in two classes of coping or action behaviors that include (reducing the number of livestock, destroying forests, leaving the place or migrating, non-agricultural employment, selling or renting land, increasing the interval between irrigation, loans taking, insuring, dropping out of school for children, borrowing and using unconventional) and transactional or adaptation behaviors including (water storage, fodder storage, changing the cultivation pattern, using new irrigation technologies, optimal use of underground water, buying additional water, digging a well, not planting summer crops). In general, the results of this research can provide new insights for policymakers in this field and provide a basic plan for stabilizing local communities in drought conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the farmers' understanding of the most important adaptation strategies in each region so that the most important strategies needed in this field can be known. Identifying adaptation strategies in each region can help design a basic plan for other strategies that have not been used in the region and promote the most essential adaptation strategies.
In this regard, this research was conducted to investigate the most important adaptation strategies in Bavi County in Khuzestan province. Based on the results, the studied farmers mentioned different understandings, definitions, experiences, risks, and expectations of drought. In such a way that after collecting the concepts, extracted categories were discussed, which were finally extracted for experiences (6 codes), definitions (3 codes), memories (5 codes), and expectations (3 codes). In general, the results of this research can provide new insights for policymakers in this field and provide a basic plan for stabilizing local communities in drought conditions.
Conclusion
Qualitative paradigm and phenomenology methods were used in this research. The results of this research were presented in four parts. In the first part, the experiences of farmers from drought were extracted, which included five categories as crop loss, river water level decrease, income decrease, weak economic power, increasing discomfort and despair, and lowering the underground water level. In the second step, the farmers' definitions of drought were extracted from drought, which included a decrease in rainfall, lack of water, and improper distribution of precipitation. In the third step, the most important memories recorded in the memory of farmers were identified, which included unemployment, unwillingness to work in agriculture, conflict over water sharing, increase in social delinquency, fate and fate. Finally, in the last step, farmers' expectations of the consequences of drought were investigated, which included the rise of the earth's temperature and the emergence of dust centers.
Funding
There is no funding support.
Authors’ Contribution
Abbas Sheheytavi: Researcher doing the work, interviewing and collecting opinions, data analysis.
Moslem Savari: a guide to doing the work, preparation of the initial draft of the article, review of past studies, validation of data.
Masoud Baradaran: consultant for doing the work, editing the text of the article.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper. |
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