Climate Change, Agricultural Practices and Livelihoods: A Study of Sharsha Upazila, Jashore District

Abstract

This research investigates household adaptability, livelihood ramifications, and climate exposure in Sharsha Upazila, Jashore District, southwest Bangladesh. In March 2026, a survey of 120 farming families (non-probability purposive and convenience sample) was merged with 20 in-depth interviews and 10 key informant interviews using a convergent mixed-methods cross-sectional methodology. Descriptive statistics with 95% confidence intervals, a composite Climate Impact Index (CII) summarising six exposure indicators, chi square and t tests, correlation, and binary logistic regression were used to analyse survey data; all inferential inferences are exploratory and sample-specific since the sample was not random. The open-ended content was examined using qualitative content analysis, which was then triangulated with the survey results. Climate impacts were almost universal: 73–88% of households reported each of the six unfavourable impact categories, with the typical household reporting five of them. The majority had adapted (89.2%, 95% CI [82.3, 93.6]), and many reported loan access (81.7%) and migration linked to livelihood (76.7%). Nevertheless, the multivariable model for adaptation was not significant (χ² (8) = 7.49, p =.49), and none of the socioeconomic or resource characteristics investigated substantially predicted adaptation, migration, or cumulative effect. Weaker everyday coping was indicated by open-ended responses: 57.5% reported little to no community support, 34.2% depended on erosive coping, and 26.7% did not identify any coping strategy. Climate stress and adaptive response are widespread among families in this regularly exposed border upazila rather than concentrated among distinct subgroups. These findings argue that policy should focus on the depth and sufficiency of adaptation rather than its adoption, challenging the notion that adaptation is limited to the resource-rich.