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Climate Resilient Farming, Benefits and Challenges

Context

In its 100-day agenda plan, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has decided to prepare 50k villages across 310 districts in India for climate resilient farming

About Climate Resilient Farming

  • Climate resilient farming involves the incorporation of adaptation, mitigation, and other practices in agriculture to enhance the system’s ability to respond to climate-related disturbances.
  • This includes resisting damage and recovering quickly from events such as extreme weather, droughts, and floods.
  • Key practices include improved management of natural resources like land, water, soil, and genetic resources through the adoption of best practices​.

Benefits of climate-resilient agriculture

  • Increased food production and quality: This leads to improved nutrition and farmer income, especially for the 75% of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and rely on agriculture.
  • Reduced vulnerability to climate stresses: Climate-resilient agriculture helps farmers cope with water scarcity, pests, extreme weather events, and long-term changes like shorter seasons.
  • Lower greenhouse gas emissions: This approach reduces emissions from agriculture, avoids deforestation, and promotes methods to capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Related Fact

●        The agriculture sector accounts for approximately 14% of India’s total emissions.

●        Significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions include methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).

●        The major sources of these emissions are:

○        Enteric Fermentation: 54.6%

○        Rice Cultivation: 17.5%

○        Fertilizer Application to Agricultural Soils: 19.1%

○        Manure Management: 6.7%

○        Field Burning of Agricultural Residues: 2.2%

What Are the Challenges in Adopting Climate Resilient Farming In India?

  • Financial Challenges: High costs associated with adopting new practices and technologies​.
    • Insufficient financial support, inadequate access to affordable credit, and insurance​
  • Technical Challenges: Limited access to advanced agricultural technologies and practices​ ​.
    • Significant knowledge and training gaps among farmers regarding climate-resilient practices​ ​.
  • Infrastructural Challenges: Inadequate water management infrastructure, including efficient irrigation systems​​.
    • Outdated and insufficient irrigation infrastructure, particularly in drought-prone areas​.
  • Policy and Governance Challenges: Inconsistencies and gaps in policies aimed at promoting climate-resilient agriculture​​.
    • Lack of effective coordination and implementation across different levels of government and sectors​.
    • One-size-fits-all policy approach that does not cater to the diverse agro-climatic zones​​.
  • Social Challenges: Resistance to change among farmers due to traditional farming methods and uncertainty about the benefits of new practices​ ​.
    • Ensuring equity and inclusion, particularly for marginalised groups such as smallholder farmers and women​.

Way Forward

  • Creation of Single Nodal Agency at National Level: Establish a single authority at the national level to address climate change issues impacting agriculture.
  • Advanced Technology: Use AI-driven analytics and decision support systems to help farmers make informed decisions about weather patterns and soil conditions.
    • Example: Weather Information Network Data System (WINDS).
  • Adoption of Heat Tolerant Varieties: Promote heat-tolerant crop varieties.
    • Examples: HDCSW-18 and DBW-187 (wheat varieties) by Punjab farmers; CR Dhan 201, NICRA Aerobic Dhan 1, and CR Dhan 412 (rice varieties).
  • Better Livestock Feed Management: Improve feeding methods by altering feeding times or frequency, modifying diet composition, and training producers in feed production and conservation for different agro-ecological zones.
  • Water Management: Implement groundwater recharge techniques, adopt scientific water conservation methods, adjust fertilizer and irrigation schedules, and modify planting dates.
  • Upscaling Proven Resilient Practices: Nationwide adoption of Climate Resilient Villages (CRVs) models established under the NICRA project.
  • Implementation of GHG Reduction Measures in Agriculture: System for Rice Intensification (SRI) can increase rice yield by 36-49% while using 22-35% less water.
  • Awareness at Panchayat Level: Educate Sarpanches about the effects of climate change on agriculture to act as force multipliers and educate farmers, who are the frontline warriors.

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Piyush
Piyush
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Greetings! I'm Piyush, a content writer at StudyIQ. I specialize in creating enlightening content focused on UPSC and State PSC exams. Let's embark on a journey of discovery, where we unravel the intricacies of these exams and transform aspirations into triumphant achievements together!