Cyclone Gaja in Tamil Nadu: Constraints faced by Coconut Growers in the Post-Disaster Phase

Author: Vignesh Kumar S.* and Murugan P.P.

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Abstract

The past decade witnessed many disasters, especially with the cyclones wreaking havoc in agriculture. Severe cyclonic storm Gaja destroyed lakhs of coconut trees in the Delta region of Tamil Nadu. The need for identifying and understand the constraints faced by the coconut growers in the post disaster phase was clearly evident and taken up for the study. A sample of 211 farmers selected based on Proportionate Random Sampling method in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, were interviewed for the study. The constraints faced in disaster response and disaster recovery phases were identified through pilot study and validated among the respondents by employing Garett ranking and Rank based quotient approaches. Lack of knowledge on disaster response was found to be the foremost constraint with a Garett value of 58.63, while the constraints faced in disaster recovery was classified into three categories namely Operational, Economic and Socio- Psychological Constraints and ranked by the farmers

Keywords

Constraints, Cyclone, Disaster Response, Disaster Recovery.