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@article{191487,
        author = {SUMIT NANDAL. RESEARCH SCHOLAR. DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY. BABA MASTNATH UNIVERSITY and DR PARDEEP KUMAR SHARMA. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR},
        title = {Farmers’ Coping Strategies Under Agricultural Stress: Diversification as a Risk-Management Tool in Haryana},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {6945-6950},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191487},
        abstract = {Farmers in semi-arid agricultural regions increasingly confront multiple stressors, including climate variability, groundwater depletion, rising production costs, and unstable markets. Crop diversification is widely promoted as a risk-management tool, yet empirical evidence on how farmers actually perceive and use diversification for coping remains limited. This study examines diversification as a resilience strategy among farmers in Haryana’s stress-prone districts, with a focus on risk perception, vulnerability, and behavioural responses. Using a mixed-methods design—comprising 420 household surveys, six focus group discussions (FGDs), resilience and vulnerability indexing, historical climate data correlation, logistic regression modelling, and structural equation modelling (SEM)—the study provides rigorous micro-level insights. Findings reveal that farmers with high climate-risk perception and greater exposure to groundwater scarcity were significantly more likely to diversify. Diversification reduced vulnerability by stabilizing seasonal incomes, improving input-use flexibility, and buffering farmers against climatic shocks. Marginal and small farmers diversified more intensively than medium farmers, primarily due to heightened exposure to risk. However, institutional constraints—such as weak procurement for non-paddy crops, volatility in vegetable markets, and limited crop insurance—restricted the full resilience benefits of diversification. The study offers a policy framework linking diversification to farmer resilience, emphasizing risk-responsive extension, market reforms, and region-specific diversification pathways.},
        keywords = {crop diversification, risk perception, resilience, coping strategies, climate variability, groundwater stress, Haryana, vulnerability index},
        month = {January},
        }