Farming in a warming world

Farming in a warming world

Article:

Article discuss about the need to foster the process of climate adaptation in agriculture.

Important Analysis:

• The Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on “Global Warming at 1.5°C” propagates the need to strengthen and enhance existing capacity to remain committed to the objectives of the Paris Agreement

Highlights of the report:

• Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8°C to 1.2°C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.
• Report highlights the consequences of 1°C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other change.
• Warming greater than the global annual average is being experienced in many land regions and seasons, including two to three times higher in the Arctic.
• Anthropogenic emissions (including greenhouse gases, aerosols and their precursors) up to the present are unlikely to cause further warming of more than 0.5°C over the next two to three decades.
• Climate-induced risks are projected to be higher for global warming of 1.5°C than at present, but lower than at 2°C (a catastrophic situation). However, the magnitude of such projections depends on in-situ attributes and the level of developments.

Areas of Concern:

• Global Warming – Change in global warming, indigenous populations and local community dependent on agricultural or coastal livelihoods are very vulnerable to the climate impacts.
• Monsoon Dependent – India’s agriculture ecosystem, distinguished by high monsoon dependence, and with 85% small and marginal landholdings, is highly sensitive to weather abnormalities.
• Heat Waves – Research has also confirmed an escalation in heat waves, in turn affecting crops, aquatic systems and livestock.
• Income Loss – The Economic Survey 2017-18 has estimated farm income losses between 15% and 18% on average, which could rise to 20%-25% for unirrigated areas without any policy interventions.
• Drought – Less than normal rainfall during the last four years, with 2014 and 2015 declared as drought years and even the recent monsoon season (June-September) ended with a rainfall deficit of 9% causing more distress to agriculture sector.
• Government Intervention – Programmes of the government lack systematic adaptation planning and resource conservation practices
• These projections underline the need for strategic change in dealing with climate change in agriculture.

Key interventions:

• 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.
• There are also exclusive climate and adaptation schemes being operationalized, 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).

Steps Needed:

• Climate Adaptations – At the macro-level, climate adaptations are to be mainstreamed in the current developmental framework as acknowledged in the Economic Survey 2017-18.
• Traditional Practice – Incorporating traditional wisdom, religious epics and various age-old notions about weather variations with climate assessments and effective extension and promoting climate resilient technologies.
• Agronomic Management – Practices agronomic management 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
• Financial Penetration – 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.
• State Action Plan on Climate Change – The SAPCC is an important platform for adaptation planning but it needs to evolve further in terms of climate-oriented regional analysis to capture micro-level sensitivity and constraints

Way Forward:

• The SAPCC is an important platform for adaptation planning but it needs to evolve further in terms of climate-oriented regional analysis to capture micro-level sensitivity and constraints.
• Moreover, convergence of climate actions with ongoing efforts and several Central schemes, greater expertise and consultations are required for a systematic prioritization of actions and for building climate resilient agriculture.
• It is desirable to have a cultural change wherein some of the components under various schemes can be converged with major rural development programmes, which will further enhance their effectiveness at the grass-root level.