Coping Mechanisms of People in Drought-Prone Areas of Rural Orissa

This paper is an attempt to study various coping strategies employed by people during drought. It also looks at the sustainability about the coping mechanisms, which the communities adapt to counter the erratic behaviour of rainfall. This study tests for ex-ante and ex-post adaptation responses to weather risk in rural farm households of Orissa and also examines how poor rural families adapt with the changing patterns of livelihood. The study critically analyses different safety-nets available for the people and examines the gaps between policy and practice. The coping mechanisms of poor agricultural households during the drought period reveal several problems relating to diversification of crop and livelihood, capacity to migrate and the role of government institutions and policies. Based on the findings, this paper puts forth several suggestions and the role of different stakeholders and institutions, which have bearing on policy.