Global Warming and Agriculture

 Climate change will have a severe impact on Agriculture and its allied activities. Certain regions of the world like Siberia or Northern Canada will benefit from a small rise in temperature since this will help to prolong the duration of the crop. However, agriculture in tropical countries like India will come under serious threat because of climate change. The areas of special concern in India are unfavorable changes in mean temperature, excess or deficit in rainfall, extreme weather events, sea level rise, and more frequent and severe coastal storms and tsunamis. The need of the hour is to formulate and implement a locally suitable comprehensive approach based on the idea of a Climate Smart Agriculture.

Climate Smart Agriculture

As per FAO, Climate Smart Agriculture is that form of agriculture which sustainably:

1. increases productivity
2. enhances resilience (adaptation)
3. reduces/removes GHG (mitigation) where possible, and
4. Enhances achievement of national food security and development goals.

Some of the following Climate Smart Agricultural measures can be undertaken in India:

• Establish at the Panchayat level, Climate Risk Management Centres and train a cadre of Community Climate Risk Managers.
• Conservation of Climate Smart Millets and their reintroduction in the diet as millets and other underutilized crops are more tolerant to drought and heat and are also nutritious.
• Farming systems for adaptation to climate change will have to be designed by ICAR, Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras and popularized through local men and women trained to become Climate Risk Managers.
• Methane, which is another greenhouse gas can be used to promote biogas plants.(example - GobarDhan yojana). Nitrous oxide emissions as a result of fertilizer application can be reduced through the use of neem coated urea.
• There will be a need for anticipatory research in several areas of farming which will need change. For example, in crops like wheat and rice, the breeder should shift attention to per day productivity from per crop productivity, since the duration of the crop is likely to get reduced.
• Preparation for more frequent floods and hailstorms - Scope of Biosaline farming involving both halophytes (salt tolerant plants) and marine aquaculture must be explored like that of the farmer of Kuttanad in Kerala perfected the method of cultivating rice below sea level (salinity management and tolerant varieties).                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
• • Adoption of permaculture: It is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.
  • It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people — providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.
  • It discourages uses of chemical and pesticide and promotes the uses of eco-friendly means to maintain soil health and increase productivity.
  • Increasing area under permaculture from current 108 million acres to 1 billion acres by 2050 could result in a total reduction of 23.2 gigatons of CO2, from both sequestration and reduced emissions.
  • It incorporates traditional farming practices with modern technological and scientific knowledge to create efficient systems. It can also reduce the dependency of farmers on multinational companies for genetically modified seeds.
  • Instead of monoculture, permaculture uses polyculture where a diverse range of vegetation and animals are utilised to support each other to create a self-sustaining system.

By: ABHISHEK KUMAR GARG