The present investigation was carried out in Rajasthan aiming to study the farmer ’s perception and adaptation<br />strategies of climate change in agriculture and to investigate the sensitivity of changes in climate and linked<br />impact on local agriculture among farmers. Problem Confrontation Index (PCI) was adopted to rank major<br />constraints. Data were collected on related parameters from 366 households of Udaipur and Bikaner districts.<br />Results showed that mid-drought was the major constraint perceived among farmers. A decline in income, earned<br />through both farming and livestock rearing stands as the most serious impact agricultural households perceived<br />due to climate change, followed by water scarcity and decline in crop yield. Respondents indicated a 39 per cent<br />decline in household income, 65 per cent decline in water for irrigation, and a 28 per cent decline in crop yield due<br />to the change in climate. Other problems also included livestock mortality, increase in weed infestation, and emergence<br />of new pests and diseases. Age of the household head, extent of literacy and access to climate information, especially<br />through television, were found to affect farmers’ awareness about climate change. The major cope-up strategies<br />included sowing of moisture tolerate short duration varieties in crop farming, arranging for fodder storage, increasing<br />concentrate feeds to the livestock, and protecting animals by hanging wet gunny bags on thatched shed in livestock<br />rearing. The results of the present study will be useful for appropriate policy actions against the ill-effect of climate<br />change in the study region and geographically and climatically identical regions of the country.

Keyword: Climate change; Farmers’ perception; Mitigation strategies