There is a general reluctance to include adaptation as a policy option in climate change negotiations, not only due to misplaced hype surrounding mankind’s ability to address the climate change problem through greenhouse gas mitigation, but also due to the general lack of clear understanding about adaptation notion. However with scientific consensus on climate change, there is now an urgent need for recognition of the key role to be played by adaptation in global climate policies.

This paper focuses on Indian agriculture to seek answers to some important questions:

a) Is Indian agriculture likely to get adversely affected by climate change? If so what is the extent of impact?

b) How to characterize the vulnerability of a farmer to climate change? Which regions are relatively more vulnerable to climate change?

c) What is the role of specific adaptation options such as inter-farmer communication in ameliorating the present and future vulnerability?

The paper argues that the methodologies and data requirements are different for answering these seemingly inter-related questions, as is their policy context. The paper also argues that the evolution of literature is contributing towards ‘main-streaming’ the climate change response strategies as there is a clear shift towards inclusion of present day climate concerns and non-climatic factors in the analysis. Further, the paper attempts to address the issues related to financing of adaptation.