Social media reporting on agricultural adaptation to climate change in Pakistan: Measures and implications for sustainability

The agricultural sector is the backbone and single-largest sector of the Pakistani economy. Pakistan's agricultural productivity is suffering due to climate change. The study aimed at finding how social media reporting can change patterns of attitudes among farmers to cope with sudden weather changes. A correlation-experimental research design was used to find the relationships and effects of climate change on agriculture in Punjab (Pakistan) and the mediating effect of social media reporting. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect samples from 120 male farmers. Online surveys, with the help of Google Docs, were used to collect participants' responses about the type of behavior they used to adopt when getting information about climate change through social media. After determining their reliability and validity through piloting, two self-constructed questionnaires were used: (i) Measuring Farmers' Behavior Influenced by Social Media Reporting of Climate Change and (ii) Effects of Social Media Reporting of Climate Change on Agriculture. Data were analyzed using SPSS-21, and correlation analysis was done to find out the relationship between social media reporting and farmers' behavior. Linear regression was used to measure the functional relationship between social media reporting about climate change and farmers' attitudes towards adopting precautions to increase annual yield. The coefficient of social media reporting was positively and significantly related to farmers' attitudes towards the selection of crops, land management, and water storage. Based on the findings, the social media reports significantly predicted patterns of farmers' behavior towards the adaptation of advanced measures to select crops, reduce pest attacks, manage land, and store water.