Sociology of Climate Resilient Agriculture: Agriculture and Food Sustainability

Climate change is a problem of how we live, produce, and consume, and the science of society ought to be at the forefront of efforts to understand and address such a problem. Climate change would affect crop productivity which in turn would affect food security subjecting mostly the disadvantageous developing and underdeveloped regions and groups to hunger and malnutrition. Climate change has differential effects where the marginalised have been most affected, for example, the global South has been more affected by climate change than the global North, the rural and marginalised farmers suffering more than the urban counterparts, and in region specific areas, the economically and socially poor farmers reeling more under the consequences. Anthropogenic causes of climate change are driven by socially organised activities rooted in production and consumption practices, and, in routines of everyday life and social structure of modern societies. Climate-variability and climate-driven extremes have threatened sustainable rice production globally. Assessment of the effects of global climatic variations on agriculture is imperative to adapt farming to changing climate and to enhance agricultural production. The primary drivers of climate change are socio-structural and socio-cultural phenomena. Impacts of climate change along with strategies for adaption as well as mitigation approaches could be informed by sociological perspectives. The identification of effects emerging from changing climate along with formulation of policies and programmes are scientific, however, implementation is to a large extent, sociological. For any effective policy and development, one ought to consider the social and sociological factors that either facilitate or constrain their implementation. This article has attempted to bridge the gap between natural sciences and the social sciences, and highlight necessary changes required in the formulation and implementation approaches to ensure food security with an aim towards building a holistic climate resilient society.