Climate-resilient agriculture practices focus on adaptive methods to withstand the effects of climate change and extreme weather conditions.
Climate change is not a new thing, it's prevalent affecting different industries. As Indian economy is majorly agriculture-dependent, the need to mitigate the impact of climate change is paramount. Heavy or lack of rainfall, cyclone, drought, all these extreme climatic events contribute largely to agricultural production. As we are moving towards monsoon season, the optimum production of kharif crops is mandatory for Indian economy. Amidst rising concerns, Indian government is planning to adopt climate resilient farming. In this article we will discuss about this initiative, methods, and future prospects.
Speaking on the sidelines of Indian Council of Agricultural Research or ICAR's 96th Foundation and Technology Day celebrations, ICAR Director General Himanshu Pathak said, “While we have achieved 75% coverage of climate-resilient seeds in wheat cultivation, the adoption in paddy is still limited. For the ongoing kharif season, we aim to increase this coverage to 25%.”
Pathak also revealed that “ICAR has developed paddy seeds resistant to drought and lodging. These seeds were sown in 16% of the total paddy area during the 2023 kharif season.”
According to FAO (2021), climate resilient agriculture is defined as “The ability of an agricultural system to anticipate and prepare for, as well as adapt to, absorb and recover from the impacts of changes in climate and extreme weather.” Apart from using resilient seeds, this method involves local and natural resources, deploying crop and livestock based on location and soil, and continuous management.
Meanwhile, there are 15 agro-climatic zones across India, among these, the Trans-Gangetic Plains and the West Coast Plains and Ghats show highest levels of resilience contributing a large amount in overall production.
ICAR has developed 35 drought tolerant varieties of seeds including rice, maize, wheat, buckwheat, and chickpea. Climate resilient crops show efficient water usage, enhanced nutrient uptake, and higher stress tolerance. These advanced varieties were developed using modern biotechnology method including genetic engineering.
Along with rising climate change, there are several factors contributing to disruption of agricultural production. These factors are: rising pest population and disease spread, deteriorating soil and water quality, increasing population and food crisis. As per Global Hunger Index by United Nations, India is ranked 111th among 125 participating nations. Only resilient agriculture practices can combat these formidable challenges.
India has produced 112.9 million tonne of wheat in 2023-24 through cultivating climate-resistant seeds despite weather challenges. The government is hopeful to replicate the similar success in paddy cultivation.
The World Bank promotes climate-resilient cultivation as a “triple win” focusing on enhanced production, resilience, and carbon sequestration. The adoption of climate-resilient agriculture practices could play an important role in protecting India's rice production amidst rising population and climate uncertainty.
As per recent estimation, India's rice production during 2023-24 crop year (July-June) stands at 136.7 million tonne. The 5 states contributing largely in production of rice are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, India is the world's second-largest producer of rice after China. The nation cultivates paddy on more than 410 lakh hectares during the kharif season.
