Identify the need for a climate resilient agriculture in India, discuss how it can be achieved.
National Mission on climate change entails a national Mission on smart agriculture highlighting clear link between climate change and agricultural resilience.
Need for climate resilient agriculture:
- Rainfed – More than 50% area under rain fed agriculture. Changing rainfall patterns, intensity and seasons.
- Poverty – employs more than 48% workforce in India, critical to poverty alleviation.
- Subsistence – lack of mechanisation, credit, insurance, inputs, irrigation.
- Food security – India is already at the ‘severe’ category of hunger in the global hunger index.
- Rural economy and overall development.
How to be achieved:
- Watershed area development – mapping of groundwater and surface water resources, rainwater harvesting, revival of traditional structures, increasing efficiency of irrigation.
- Crop diversification – millets, pulses are hard and climate resilient crops which can grow in scanty rainfall and high temperatures.
- Allied agriculture – livelihood diversification with animal husbandry, poultry, apiculture.
- Mixed farming and conservation agriculture.
- Integrated level, nutrient, water management. E.g. Agroforestry, manuring, mulching.
- Extension activities – mechanisation through common service centres, insurance and assessment.
Climate resilient agriculture is the need of the hour in the wake of climate change induced disasters.
Originally written on
September 2, 2023
and last modified on
October 27, 2024.