Vulnerability Comparision
6. Sanitation system, hygiene practice and health
Correlations
Disease Shoe user
Pearson
Correlation 1 -.014
Disease
Sig. (2-tailed) .911
N 64 64
Pearson
Correlation -.014 1
Shoe
user Sig. (2-tailed) .911
N 64 64
For examine the relationship between shoe use and diseases Pearson (bivariate) correlation method was used. Table 6.2 shows that there is a low negative correlation between shoes usage and disease. This indicates that people who used shoe during defecation have lower probability of infectious disease.
6.2 Hand washing and disease (after toilet)
Hand washing is an important factor in sanitation. In rural areas of Bangladesh many people cannot use soap for washing their hand after defecation. It was observed that people who used soap and soil to clean their hands were less affected by chronic disease (Dysentery, Diarrhea, Jaundices, Chicken pox, Pneumonia, Typhoid, and Cholera). Among the soap users, 48% were affected by infectious disease. Strikingly, almost all respondents who did not use soap for cleaning their hands were attacked by infectious disease.
Title: Farmers Percption On Drought And Its Impacts In Barind Tracts Md. Shafiqul Islam, Mahbuba Nasreen and Hamidul Huq
1. INTRODUCTION
It is not easy to define drought in a simple word. It is as like as chronic disease. Drought might be defined on the basis of non-availability of rainfall, leading to decrease in base flow and surface flow of water bodies and depletion of soil moisture (Nandargi, et al., 2005). Drought is a relative term that can mean different things to people from different backgrounds and with different viewpoints. What is drought in one place may not be drought in another place. Even in the same region, what one farmer considers as drought, the other farmer may view as normal. UNDP (2000) defines drought as a sustained period of deficient precipitation with a low frequency of occurrence. Drought is defined as the consequence of a period of lower than expected normal precipitation over an extended period of time, which leads to a water crisis for certain activities, groups, or environmental sectors. The impact of drought relies on the interaction between a lack of precipitation, demand for water, and human activities, which may exacerbate the impacts. In terms of impacts, drought classifies in four categories: meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socio-economic. Frequent and relentless droughts lead to the insidious falling of water tables, resulting in serious water problems in Barind areas. Consequent drought leads land degradation and desertification resulting water crisis in the Barind Tract. Droughts have caused human suffering for a very long time and still wreak havoc on ecosystems and societies. In Barind Tracts, drought increases the vulnerability of local populations. The capability of vulnerable populations to retort to drought is inadequate; this is happened not only due to frequency of drought but also to non-resilient livelihoods. Drought impacted not only on human life but also, increasingly, in terms of short-term and long-term economic losses. Sectors that are heavily affected by drought include agriculture, health, livelihoods and the natural environment. The impact of intermittent drought-related predicaments across the country is speedily getting higher, with more and more people being affected each time a drought occurs. Several research results reported that drought pose highest risk to the northern and northwestern part of Bangladesh. Series of studies have been pointed the impact of droughts on agriculture (Karim er al, 1990; Jabber 1990;, Jabber et al, 1982;
Saleh et al, 2000; Mazid et al, 2005 cited in Shamsuddin & Houshang 2008), food production (Ahmed and Bernard1989; Erickson et al, 1993 cited in Shamsuddin &
Houshang 2008 ), land degradation (Rasheed 1998; Karim and Iqbal 2001; Government of Bangladesh 2005 cited in Shamsuddin & Houshang 2008 ), economy Erickson et al, 1993;
World Bank Bangladesh 1998 cited in Shamsuddin & Houshang 2008 ), and society (Erickson et al 1993; Paul 1998 cited in Shamsuddin & Houshang 2008 ). Research findings showed that the drought victims often are compelled to buy food by selling their lands, household goods, and livestock at distressed prices (Reardon et al. 1988). As a result the poor are becoming poorer to tackle with such harsh situation. Bangladesh has already shown an increased frequency of droughts in recent years (National Drought Mitigation Center 2006). Droughts cause problems to the country at least as frequently as do major floods and cyclones, averaging about once in 2.5 years (Ericksen 1993; Paul, 1995). Water paucity and drought (irrigated water deficit) may increase risks for agricultural sustainability and food security in varied regions (Kijne et al. 2003). Drought is a harsh restraint to crop production throughout Asia (Wade et al. 1999), and is also considered
important in some intensively cropped, irrigated farming systems such as on the Indo Gangetic plain (Kataki et al. 2001).
2. STUDY OBJECTIVE
The broad objective of the study was to know farmers perception on drought and its impacts in the study areas. Specific objectives of the study were to: i) explore the causes of drought;
ii) know the drought symptoms; iii) know drought frequency and recent drought year; iv) how drought impacted livelihoods; and v) how agriculture is affected by drought
3. METHODOLOGY
The study was concentrated in six villages under six upazila in three districts of Bangladesh over a period of nine months. Based on CEGIS report 2013, Tanore and Godagari Upazila were selected from Rajshahi considering drought severity ranking. Similarly, Nachole and Shibganj Upazila were selected from Chapainawabganj district and Niamatpur and Porsha Upazila from Naogaon district. Six villages were selected from six Upazila randomly (one village from one Upazila). Total 343 respondents (30% women and 70% men) were interviewed using structured questionnaire. The study was also used focus group discussion with the homogeneous group. Total twelve focus groups discussion were carried out with male and female participants separately. In-depth and key informants interview and field observation were made during data collection. Thirty In-depth interviews and fifteen Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) were administrated for the study. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and results were presented in the report.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION