Climate-smart agriculture- A Roadmap to sustainable food production
Comprehensive practices for managing agricultural production to combat the negative effects of climate change on food production
Why Climate-Smart Agriculture?
Agriculture is the backbone of our Indian Economy, as 70% of the population is employed in farm related occupations. The contribution of this sector in GDP and GHG emissions is 17% and 18% respectively. Studies suggest that despite a notable workforce, the reason for low GDP could be due to outdated farming practices and surplus usage of subsidized fertilizers that degrade the soil over prolonged periods. IPCC report, 2019, states that land degradation is a major cause of climate change as it reduces the capacity of soil to uptake carbon dioxide and hence increases its emission into the atmosphere. UNFCC report, 2021 also stresses on the importance of responsible agricultural practices to safeguard food and farmer’s livelihood as with increased effects of climate change, food security becomes more challenging (Mahto et al., 2021).
The threats like change in rainfall pattern and temperature rise affecting the agricultural sector and people associated with it, can be reduced by increasing the resource use efficiency and adaptive capacity of agricultural production and farmers accordingly (Lipper et al., 2014). Researchers in India imply that even in moderate increase of temperature there will be substantial impact on crop yields especially crops like rice, wheat and maize. Therefore to combat this issue, India needs a self-sustained and growth driven agricultural approach. The sustainable road for food security and production is Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), a technique to reorient the agricultural system to support food security and resilience to climate change (Aryal et al., 2020).
Some Key Features of CSA are:
● Water-smart practices like rainwater harvesting, laser land levelling, micro-irrigation, raised bed planting, crop diversification, alternate wetting and drying in rice and direct seeded rice
● Nutrient-smart techniques like zero tillage, residue management, precision fertiliser application using Nutrient Expert decision support tools, GreenSeeker and Leaf Color Chart, residue management, legume catch-cropping
● Technology-assisted practices like ICT-based agro-met services, index-based insurance, stress-tolerant crops and varieties
Knowledge sharing among farmers to enhance crop productivity and coordinating plans with farmers, researchers and policy makers will pave its way to sustainable agricultural praoduction (Aggarwal et al., 2013).
Implementing climate smart agricultural landscapes
Most of the farmers are not financially strong enough to bring these changes in their agricultural practices without any external support. Indian government is promoting this cause by launching policies which would assist the farmers in adapting to the sustainable farming practices. Indian council of Agricultural Research along with Ministry of Agriculture and farmers welfare, GoI has launched “National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)” project to adapt, mitigate and demonstrate technologies on farm lands and create awareness among farmers and stakeholders.
The climate-smart agricultural practices are promoted under the central government schemes Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojna (PMKSY), Parmparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY), Soil Health Mission (SHM), National Bomboo Mission (NBM) and Sub Mission on Agro Forestry (SMAF) (PIB, 2022).The Government of India under its eight missions on National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) has also launched a plan National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) to promote adaptation of sustainable agricultural practices (Asia Foundation, 2022).
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Embracing Climate-Smart Agriculture: Paving the Path to Sustainable Food Security
With ongoing farmer protests in India seeking for Minimum Support Price (MSP), MSP guarantee alone will not improve farm incomes. Embracing climate smart agricultural practices for a longterm sustainable solution is vital for Indian farmers to keep up with the changing environment. Food security and production is one of the major challenges of climate change which is given more focus as it will affect the farmlands risking the lives of all the living beings involved in process directly and indirectly. To combat the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture, Climate-Smart Agricultural practices become of utmost importance. There are farmers in our countries who have started using these techniques but it is important to spread awareness and educate other farmers regarding the same. It might not be economically feasible for all the farmers to bring drastic changes to the farming practices, but our government is promoting policies and projects which would help them in adapting these technologies and mitigate climate change.
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