The dynamics of climate change adaptation in India: A review of climate smart agricultural practices among smallholder farmers in Aravalli district, Gujarat, India

Abstract Climate change (CC) continues to be one of the most complex environmental and socio-economic issues impacting livelihoods world over. For an agrarian and climate-sensitive developing country like India, CC is an additional burden, as rapid population growth, industrialisation and depletive exploitation of resources are already exerting pressure on ecological and socio-economic systems. It is in this context that this study was undertaken to gain insights into the CC scenario in Aravalli district of Gujarat state (India), its impacts on smallholder farmers, the adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices, current policy options and programs, as well as the challenges confronting sustainability of CSA practices. An electronic review of published peer-reviewed journal articles and reports from scientific databases (Scopus, Web of Science Core collection, Science Direct and Google scholar) indicated that CC has negatively impacted smallholder farmers in Aravalli district with a poised potential to exacerbate inequality, derail smallholder farmers' livelihoods, and thereby hampering sustainable economic growth.The major reported impacts have been witnessed as droughts, disparities in precipitation patters, heat waves and temperature extremes, floods, emergence of resistant agricultural pests and increased prevalence of crop diseases. In response, smallholder farmers have adopted certain water, land, livestock, and crop oriented CSA management practices to cope-up with the impacts of CC. Being a nascent district, most national, state and district policies and program interventions are at proposal and initial execution stages. The review highlights the need to undertake more empirical research to gain a deeper understanding of the emerging patterns ofCSA and their impacts on agricultural development and livelihoods of farmers in Aravalli district.