Climate change impacts and the rice farmers' responses at irrigated upstream and downstream in Indonesia

The responses of farmers have become a concern in research on climate change and its adaptation in developing countries. Several analyses have been carried out on farmers' responses of rainfed or irrigated rice fields. However, there is no research on the adaptation strategy of farmers in the downstream part of irrigation, which limits the decision-making process. Despite the irrigation facilities, the downstream rice fields are more susceptible to drought because the opportunity to get water is very small, especially during a long dry season due to climate change. Therefore, this research aims to analyze and compare the farmers' knowledge, perceptions, and adaptation efforts in the downstream and upstream irrigation areas of the Bulukumba Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The grounded theory method was used when the data were collected iteratively which facilitate the process of forming new concepts. A total of 55 in-depth interviews were conducted with farmers using two languages, namely Bugis (local language) and Indonesian to easily understand the research questions. The basic theory as a finding from this study showed that the concept of climate change impacts for farmers in the downstream is different from farmers in the upstream area, in terms of causal conditions, action/reaction and consequences. Farmers in the downstream perceived that the causes of climate change impacts were water shortages and rising temperatures. Adaptation strategy were carried out through the use of local and non-local knowledge in order to reduce the vulnerability of farmers' livelihood systems. Meanwhile, farmers in upstream areas revealed that pest explosions and rising temperatures were the causal conditions caused by climate change. To deal with these impacts, farmers tend to use non-local knowledge such as chemical pesticides and pest-resistant seeds. Through this adaptation, farmers could reduce the problem of pest explosions. Based on the results, the adoption of an adaptive climate change impact management policy with a participatory approach was recommended.