Effects of urbanization on the resilience of the farming systems in peri-urban areas: A case study of Hyderabad, India

Abstract Background : Urbanization is a dynamic process with multifaceted effects on agriculture. While facilitating land use changes, it is also influencing market access, technical efficiency of farming, land prices, and regulatory frameworks. This study aims to understand the effects of urbanization on the resilience of the farming systems in the peri-urban areas of Hyderabad, India. Methods : The resilience of the farming systems is characterized by the three capacities of resilience i.e. robustness, adaptability, and transformability. Indicators were identified for the attributes that contribute to the capacities of resilience. For primary data collection, six focus group discussions were conducted followed by a household survey of 400 farm households in the blocks around Hyderabad. We use factor analysis to combine these indicators of resilience capacities into indexes. Results : Our findings suggest that urbanization has a mixed impact on the resilience of the farming systems. The farming system Diversified Cropping with Dairy is more robust while the farming system Diversified Cropping without Livestock is more adaptable and transformable as compared to the other farming systems in the study area. Conclusion : The indirect effects of urbanization, i.e., market effect and the technical efficiency effect contribute positively to the adaptability and transformability of the farming systems by facilitating market access, demand for high-value crops, access to infrastructure, and agricultural services. It directly affects the robustness of the farming systems negatively by constraining access to natural resources i.e. land and water.