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Acharya and Das

climatic conditions of Odisha make it conducive for witnessing in multiple disasters due to this Sharma, Mohanty, and
Islam, (2016) observes that the State Odisha is the disaster capital of India (Sharma, Mohanty, and Islam, 2016). Using 45
years of data for seven selected crops (panel data) of Odisha Das (2017) observed that changing climate, particularly at
the rainfall and temperature level, has significant impacts on the crop production in Odisha (Das, 2017). Research studies
using panel regression analysis found that climate change has a significant influence on the agriculture production system
in Odisha (Mishra and Sahu, 2014; Mishra, Sahu and Sahu, 2015; Patel, Mathew, Nanda, et al., 2020).
IPCC (2007) working Group-II estimates that changing climate in India will lead to a drop in wheat production by
4-5 million tones, 4-35% reduction in rice yields, and negative impacts on livestock (WG-II, IPCC-2007). The panel also
highlights a 10-30% decline in freshwater supply due to floods and droughts, which have significant negative impacts
on livelihoods and biodiversity. Rising temperature due to climate change seems to increase the probability of higher
morbidity and mortality from heat stress and vector or water-borne diseases. Rapid variation in rainfall intensity and
occurrences resulting in more frequent floods and droughts will also contribute to higher morbidity and mortality. Weather
variability and climate-induced stress result in low land utilization and productivity. In this way, it is marked with high
unpredictable production rates from a unit of input invested. Increasing the probability of crop loss or production failure
due to pest attack, pathogens, poor weed, and plant growth management is also marked with less availability of physical
labor for agriculture. Besides these, the impact of crop production on the dynamic balance of biophysical resources (soil
quality, water availability, sunlight, and temperature suitability) cannot be ignored. Samuel, Smith, and Guth (2017).
observed that climate change has significant influence on each of those above discussed dimensions of agricultural
production (Samuel, Smith and Guth, 2017).

1.2. Research Objectives
Climate change has a paramount role in changing household nutrition patterns by influencing agriculture production system
and access to the availability of quality food at the household level, and this can be deduced by reviewing various research
documents. Changing climate will lead to a change in temperature pattern. Thus, the agriculture ecosystem will face severe
consequences of weather stress in the form of drought, erratic rainfall, low pressure, excess or scanty rain, flood, severe
pest attack on plant, the incidence of pathogens, poor weed management, less growth of the plant, nutrient loss of the
crop, inadequate availability of the agriculture labor and direct impact on the livestock reproduction system. Ultimately
less agriculture production and productivity, inadequate availability of nutritious food and quality diet at household level
will lead to poor household-level nutrition outcomes. Hence, climate change affects food production and consequently,
the household food and nutrition status. In this backdrop, the following questions have emerged, is there any significant
impact of climate vulnerability on household food and nutrition status in Odisha through agriculture production pathways
system? Do higher climate-vulnerable districts have low household-level nutrition indicator performances, particularly
on women and child nutrition? Is there any relationship that exists between climate vulnerability and household nutrition?
The study examines to understand the role of climate vulnerability on the agricultural ecosystem and its cascading
impacts on household nutrition status in Odisha to address the questions raised in the above section. The specific
objectives of the study are to (1) rank the districts of Odisha based on their climate vulnerability extent with reference to
agriculture production system by developing a composite index and (2) comprehend the linkage of climate vulnerability
with household nutrition status, particularly among children under age five and women in reproductive age group through
an agriculture production system.

1.3. Nutrition Status of Odisha – A Brief Sketch
Odisha is in the eastern part of India with a long coastline bordering the Bay of Bengal. As per Census (2011), the state
accounts for approximately 3.46% of the total population of the country. For administrative purposes, Odisha is divided
into three revenue divisions and 30 districts with a population of about 42 million (2011 Census). It has a cultivated
area of 6.180 million hectares with highly skewed operational landholdings. Of this, more than 91% of areas belong to
small and marginal farmers and the average size of landholding is 1.04 hectares (GoO, 2017). In the recent past, Odisha
has progressed considerably on nutrition indices being a signatory to the global commitments to end malnutrition. As
per the latest round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) (2015-2016), one-third (34.1%) of children under age
five in Odisha are stunted, which has reduced from 45% in 2005-2006. More than three (34.4%) of ten children in the
age as a mentioned earlier group are underweight, and one-fifth of the children are wasted. It is also found that one of
each four (26.4%) women in the reproductive age group are reported having below-average body mass index and more
than half (51%) is anemic. Approximately half (47.6%) of pregnant women aged 15-49 years are also anemic (NFHS-4,

International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1 43