Farmers need to be climate smart
Productivity can be improved with better scientific input
An annual review by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has said that crops, plantations and livestock in 151 districts, or slightly more than onefifth of the total districts in India, are susceptible to the impact of climate change. Using data sets created by the University of Delaware and
India Meteorological Department, the review projected that climate change could reduce annual agricultural incomes in the range of 15-18% on average and up to 20-25% in unirrigated areas. About 54% of India’s sown area has no access to irrigation. This climate impact on agriculture is a cause for worry: the sector accounts for a large share in gross domestic product (16%) and employment (49%). Poor agricultural performance can lead to high inflation, rural distress, and political restiveness, as recent rural agitations and farmer suicides have shown.
Even as the agriculture sector deals with this, it has to work on ways to maximise productivity, returns to farmers, and optimise the use of soil and water. To face this challenge, farms of every type and size have to be “climate smart”. A paper on ‘Climate change and Indian agriculture’ published in Ideas for India (IFI) outlines three policy interventions. The first is to increase irrigation cover. Second, increase research in agriculture technology to develop crop varieties and cropping techniques which are more climate-resilient. Third, rationalise subsidies (power and fertiliser) that favour the indiscriminate use of water.
While the authors don’t expand on the second, genomic profiling of Indian millet varieties such as finger millet, pearl millet and sorghum suggest that they are climate-smart crops ideal for environments prone to drought and extreme heat. The growing of climate-resilient crops need to be encouraged, instead of providing state support for water-guzzling crops. There should also be better linkages between scientists and farmers. Farmers must also have better access and control over water resources. Finally, long-term climate information must be incorporated into decision making.