MUST RECOGNISE THE ADAPTATION OF AGRICULTURE TO CLIMATE CRISIS
NEW DELHI: Drought-like conditions in the Canadian Prairies could make your Masoor Dal and even Chana more expensive. Don’t be surprised, but a lot of our dal, comfort food in India, is grown in Canada’s Saskatchewan province. Did you know that Canada exports almost a billion dollars worth of pulses to India annually? A Regina farmer last week told me how hard it has been in the last few years to grow pulses.
He mentioned that the usual rain had become erratic and reduced, on one hand. On the other hand, he pointed out that the region has experienced extra hot days, which added to the droughtlike conditions. In some areas, he said, farmers’ crops were reduced by 50%. This only makes lentils more expensive and harder to grow in long term.
Climate change has extended the vulnerability of the poor beyond their borders. What was once a smart national strategy to ensure food security is now compromised by erratic weather.
Overall, lower and mid-income countries are forced to use their frugal resources to combat climate change. But they can’t do much about the droughts and floods of others. Such vulnerable countries have to find strategies to minimize the violent impact of climate change in other regions on its most vulnerable citizens. Adaptation in the grower countries on the condition that the resulting crop is acceptable to the importer and can be part of a longer-term pact. The innovative and just use of climate finance – or reparations-should also be examined.
We must recognize the adaptation of agriculture to climate as urgent, for not only are millions of Indians dependent on imported food, but the community of global farmers also need innovative solutions to survive.
GUWAHATI: Five more people died in rain-related incidents in Assam on Sunday, taking the toll to 127, as the region continued to battle devastating floods across 28 districts.
The five deaths were reported from Barpeta, Darrang, Cachar, Morigaon and Karimganj districts, said a bulletin by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Over 2.2 million people in 28 of the state’s 35 districts still remained affected by the floods, and nearly 217,413 displaced people were taking shelter in 680 relief camps, said ASDMA. Of these, 109,623 have taken refuge in the 230 camps located in Cachar, one of the worst-affected districts.
The flood situation in Silchar town in Cachar district continued to remain grim with several areas still being submerged under 5-8 feet of deluge for the seventh consecutive day. Nearly 200,000 residents in the region were facing a shortage of food, water and other essentials for the seventh consecutive day. The flooding in Silchar reached unprecedented level after a part of the Barak river’s embankment was damaged by locals in the Bethukandi area on June 17, around 6 km from the town. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma undertook a visit to Silchar town in Barak Valley on Sunday morning (his second visit to the headquarters in Cachar district in four days) and said rescue and relief work in view of unprecedented flooding has been tremendous.
“Under the present circumstance, which is unprecedented, the Cachar district administration and all other agencies involved in rescue and relief have done tremendous work,” Sarma told reporters in Silchar. “I think the situation in Silchar will improve slowly. If there is no fresh rainfall, flooding in the town should come down in the next 48 hours.”
According to ASDMA, 2,542 villages are currently under water and 74,706.77 hectares of crop area has been damaged across Assam. A total of 1,590,557 domestic animals and poultry have been affected in the deluge, it added.
On Thursday, the chief minister undertook an aerial survey of the district and interacted with officials of three districts in Barak Valley, Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, which are affected by floods.