According to the FAO, Climate-Resilient Agriculture refers to “the ability of agricultural systems to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, absorb, and recover from climate shocks and stresses while ensuring sustainable productivity.”
CRA involves an integrated approach that focuses on:
- Climate-resilient crop varieties especially drought and flood resistant varieties.
- Resource-efficient practices such as direct seeded rice, zero tillage, and precision irrigation.
- Nature-based solutions such as agroforestry, soil and water conservation.
- Risk management tools such as crop insurance and climate advisories.
- Digital and biotechnology tools such as AI advisories, bio-inputs, and genome editing.
Need for Climate-Resilient Agriculture in India:
- NICRA data indicates the yield loss of 7–28% in rainfed rice and 3.2–5.3% decline in wheat.
- Likelihood of extreme events increase such as poverty, indebtedness, distress migration, and food insecurity.
- Agriculture contributes nearly 14% of India’s GHG emissions, especially methane from paddy and nitrous oxide from fertilisers, necessitating low-emission pathways.
Significance of CRA in Transforming India’s Agri-Food Systems:
- Food and Nutrition Security: CRA stabilises yields under climate stress, protecting staple crops and promoting nutri-cereals, pulses, and diversified diets. For example, Odisha Millet Mission has improved farmer incomes and climate resilience in rainfed regions.
- Improving Resource Efficiency: Practices like System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and direct seeded rice (DSR) reduce water use by 20–40% and lower methane emissions.
- Strengthening Ecosystem Services: CRA promotes organic matter, soil carbon, and biodiversity, reversing degradation caused by input-intensive farming. E.g., Agroforestry systems.
- Reducing Climate Risks: Risk-transfer mechanisms like PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and early warning systems cushion farmers against climate shocks.
- Technology-led Agricultural Transformation: CRA integrates biotechnology, digital platforms, and precision farming to enable climate-smart decision-making.
Government Initiatives Supporting CRA:
- National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) under NAPCC
- NICRA, 2011 focuses on research, demonstration, capacity building
- Soil Health Card Scheme, PKVY, Natural Farming Mission
- AgriStack & Digital Agriculture Mission
- PMFBY & RWBCIS for climate risk insurance
Challenges in Scaling CRA:
- Low Adoption: High initial costs, limited awareness, and fragmented landholdings restrict uptake of CRA practices.
- Policy Distortions: MSP and procurement focus on rice–wheat discourages crop diversification and climate-suitable cropping.
- Resource over-Exploitation: Free electricity and input subsidies drive groundwater depletion, undermining sustainability.
- Weak Extension Capacity: KVKs and extension systems lack digital infrastructure and real-time climate advisory capability.
Strengthening Climate-Resilient Agriculture:
- Universalising CRA: Scale NICRA to all climate-risk-prone villages with location-specific adaptation strategies.
- Promoting Crop Diversification: Shift towards millets, pulses, oilseeds, which are less water-intensive and more climate-adaptive such as Odisha Millet Mission.
- Strengthening Extension: Upgrade KVKs with AI-enabled advisories, vernacular platforms, and 24×7 climate information.
- Empowering Local Institutions: Integrate Panchayats into climate planning, incentivise villages adopting best CRA practices through rankings and grants.
Conclusion:
Climate-Resilient Agriculture is central to transforming India’s agri-food systems from high-risk, resource-intensive models to ones that are sustainable, adaptive, and farmer-centric.
‘+1’ Value Addition:
- NICRA interventions have reduced climate-induced crop losses by 20–40% and increased farm incomes by ₹10,000–15,000.
- As per ICAR–IPCC assessments, a 1°C rise in temperature can reduce wheat yields by 6% and rice yields by 3%.
- Odisha Millet Mission increased farmer incomes by 25–30% while cutting water use by 40% compared to paddy cultivation.
- Agriculture accounts for 14% of India’s GHG emissions, mainly from rice methane and fertilisers.
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