What Himalayan Farmers Teach Us About Climate Change Adaptation
A study finds how policy support helped Himalayan farmers respond to climate change through long-term, self-organised adaptation.
August 05, 2025
Ashwini Chhatre
Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy. He is also the Executive Director of Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP). An interdisciplinary scholar, his research explores the intersection of governance, economic development, and environmental sustainability. He focuses on decentralised forest governance, climate change adaptation, and multifunctional agriculture.
Video Summary
In this episode of The Big Picture, Professor Ashwini Chhatre discusses his research on ‘self-organised adaptation’, a concept that explains how long-term agricultural transformation can result from farmers’ incremental, locally driven responses to climate change. The study finds how policy support through knowledge dissemination, infrastructure development, and market linkages created favourable conditions for sustained farmer-led adaptation. As a result, a region once dominated by apple cultivation transitioned into a diverse agricultural system with a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and food grains.
Authored by ISB Editorial