https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/op-ed-snap-farming-in-a-warming-world/

Model Answer:

• The effects of climate change are being felt by almost every individual on earth. The sixth assessment report by IPCC has established that the world has already become 1 degree warmer because of human activities causing a greater frequency of extremes and obstruction to the normal functioning of ecosystems. The world leaders have shown concerns by organizing various mitigating measures to reduce the effects of global warming. India with its diverse agro-climatic settings, is one of the most vulnerable countries.

Effects of Climate Change:

• The global temperature increase brings disastrous consequences, endangering the survival of the Earth’s flora and fauna, including human beings.
• The worst climate change impacts include the melting of the ice mass at the poles, which in turn causes rising sea level, producing flooding and threatening coastal environments through which small island states risk disappearing entirely.
• Climate change also increases the appearance of more violent weather phenomena, drought, fires, the death of animal and plant species, flooding from rivers and lakes, the creation of climate refugees and destruction of the food chain and economic resources, especially in developing countries.

India’s Vulnerabilities:

• India’s s agriculture ecosystem, distinguished by high monsoon dependence, and with 85% small and marginal landholdings, is highly sensitive to weather abnormalities.
• There has been less than normal rainfall during the last four years, with 2014 and 2015 declared as drought years.
• Even the recent monsoon season (June-September) ended with a rainfall deficit of 9%, which was just short of drought conditions.
• Research is also confirming an escalation in heat waves, in turn affecting crops, aquatic systems and livestock.
• The Economic Survey 2017-18 has estimated farm income losses between 15% and 18% on average, which could rise to 20%-25% for un-irrigated areas without any policy interventions.

Various measures taken:

• Interventions such as the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Soil Heath Card, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, National Agriculture Market, or e-NAM, and other rural development programmes are positive interventions that can address the vulnerability of farmers and rural households.
• There are also exclusive climate and adaptation schemes being operationalised, such as the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), the National Adaptation Fund, and the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC).
• Expansion of extension facilities, improving irrigation efficiency, and promotion of satellite-enabled agriculture risk management, creating micro-level agro-advisories, providing customised real-time data, and capacity building of stakeholders are some initiatives towards building greater resilience in agriculture.

Way Forward:

• Climate exposure can be reduced through agronomic management practices such as inter and multiple cropping and crop-rotation; shift to non-farm activities; insurance covers; up-scaling techniques such as solar pumps, drip irrigation and sprinklers.
• At the micro-level, traditional wisdom, religious epics and various age-old notions about weather variations still guide farmers’ responses, which could be less effective.
• Corroborating these with climate assessments and effective extension and promoting climate resilient technologies will enhance their pragmatism.
• At the macro-level, climate adaptations are to be mainstreamed in the current developmental framework (which is still at a nascent stage, as acknowledged in the Economic Survey 2017-18).
• Though programmes of the government document the likely consequences of climate change, they lack systematic adaptation planning and resource conservation practices.
• Mainstreaming adaptation into the policy apparatus has the potential to improve the resilience of several development outcomes.
• The approach demands coherence across multiple policy scales as required for developing possible synergy between micro-macro levels and addressing several cross-cutting issues.

Conclusion:

• There is a need to foster the process of climate adaptation in agriculture, which involves reshaping responses across both the micro- and macro-level decision-making culture.
• There is an urgent need to educate farmers, reorient Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other grass-root organisations with specific and more funds about climate change and risk-coping measures.
• A convergence of climate actions with ongoing efforts and several Central schemes with similar mandates is a must.
• Greater expertise and consultations are required for a systematic prioritisation of actions and fiscal prudence for building climate resilient agriculture.