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Picture Courtesy: THE HINDU
Climate change—characterized by erratic weather, rising temperatures, and land degradation— threatens agriculture, food security, and livelihoods, making traditional farming unsustainable. Therefore, adopting Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) is an urgent necessity for India's future.
CRA is a modern agricultural approach designed to enhance the capacity of farming systems to withstand climate shocks and adapt to long-term environmental changes, all while maintaining or increasing productivity.
It integrates advanced science, technology, and traditional knowledge to create sustainable and stable farming systems.
Key Components and Tools of CRA
Advanced Crop Varieties: Development and use of crops, often through genome editing, that are tolerant to drought, heat, salinity, and pests.
Bio-Inputs: Application of biofertilizers (like Rhizobium, Azotobacter) and biopesticides to improve soil health, reduce dependency on synthetic chemicals, and lower cultivation costs.
Precision Agriculture: Leveraging digital tools like AI-driven analytics, IoT sensors, and satellite imagery to provide real-time, data-driven advisories on irrigation, nutrient application, and pest management.
Resource Conservation: Adopting practices that conserve natural resources, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR), laser land levelling, and zero-tillage farming.
Integrated Farming Systems: Combining different agricultural activities like crops, livestock, and aquaculture to diversify income and increase resource use efficiency.
CRA vs Conventional Farming: A Comparison
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Conventional Farming |
Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) |
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Approach |
Reactive and input-intensive. Focuses on maximizing yield under stable conditions. |
Proactive, adaptive, and knowledge-intensive. Focuses on stability and sustainability under variable conditions. |
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Inputs |
High dependence on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and intensive water use. |
Emphasis on bio-inputs, integrated pest management, and high water-use efficiency (e.g., micro-irrigation). |
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Technology |
Mechanization focused on labour saving and scale. |
Utilizes biotechnology, digital farming, and AI for precise, data-driven decisions. |
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Environmental Impact |
Contributes to soil degradation, water pollution, and higher GHG emissions. |
Aims to improve soil health, conserve water, reduce emissions, and enhance biodiversity. |
High Vulnerability of Rainfed Agriculture: Rainfed areas constitute about 51% of India's net sown area, providing approximately 40% of the food production, but are highly vulnerable to monsoon fluctuations (Source: Ministry of Agriculture).
Projected Decline in Crop Yields: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) studies project drops in major crop yields by 2050 (e.g., rainfed rice down 20%, wheat down 19.3%) due to rising temperatures and altered rainfall, threatening food security.
Ensuring National Food Security: For a population projected to exceed 1.5 billion by 2030 (Source: UN), maintaining food self-sufficiency is a strategic imperative. CRA is key to ensuring stable production.
Protecting Farmer Livelihoods: Climate shocks disproportionately impact 86% small and marginal farmers. CRA can protect them from crop failures and reduce input costs, thereby stabilizing their income.
Achieving Sustainability Goals: CRA aligns with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement by promoting practices that reduce agricultural emissions and build resilience.
National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA): Launched by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 2011, to build resilience in agriculture against climate change through strategic research, technology demonstration, capacity building, and policy guidelines.
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): Under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), to integrate climate adaptation into agriculture. Its key components include:
BioE3 Policy (Bio-economy, Bio-employment, and Bio-environment): Positions CRA as a priority area for biotechnology-led growth, accelerating the deployment of genome-edited and climate-tolerant crop varieties.
PM-PRANAM: Incentivizes states to reduce chemical fertilizer use and adopt alternative fertilizers like organic and bio-fertilizers to restore soil health.
Digital Agriculture Mission: Launched with an outlay of over ₹2,800 crore, it uses AI, Big Data, and Remote Sensing for digital crop estimation, yield modeling, and personalized advisories.
Namo Drone Didi: Promotes the use of drones for precision spraying of fertilizers and pesticides, improving efficiency while reducing chemical exposure for farmers.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF): Provides a 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹2 crore for building post-harvest infrastructure like cold storage and warehouses.
Formation of 10,000 FPOs: A central scheme to organize farmers into Farmer Producer Organizations, allowing them to pool resources for better bargaining power, market access, and credit.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): A crop insurance scheme providing a financial safety net against localized calamities and post-harvest losses.
USA: The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) initiative provides financial and technical support to farmers for adopting practices like cover cropping and no-till farming to enhance carbon sequestration.
European Union: The "Farm to Fork Strategy" sets ambitious targets, including a 50% reduction in pesticide use and a 20% reduction in fertilizer use by 2030, promoting a shift towards sustainable practices.
Brazil: Its agricultural research corporation, EMBRAPA, is a world leader in developing climate-resilient crop varieties for tropical regions through advanced biotechnology.
India needs substantial public investment, strong policy, and robust public-private partnerships to replicate the success of these models in driving innovation and adoption.
Awareness and Access: Limited awareness and high initial costs of technologies like precision irrigation and resilient seeds prevent small and marginal farmers from adopting them.
Quality and Trust Issues: Inconsistent quality and performance of bio-inputs (biofertilizers, biopesticides) in the market have led to a trust deficit among farmers.
The Digital Divide: Uneven internet connectivity and low digital literacy in rural areas limit the reach and effectiveness of AI-based advisories and digital farming tools.
Fragmented Policy Implementation: Government schemes for agriculture, water, and climate change often operate in silos, creating implementation bottlenecks and confusing farmers.
Inadequate Financial Support: Limited access to affordable credit and insufficient crop insurance coverage for climate-related risks deter farmers from investing in new technologies.
Formulate a Coherent National CRA Roadmap
Develop a unified national policy, under the BioE3 framework, to align agricultural, environmental, and technological strategies. This roadmap should set clear targets and ensure inter-ministerial coordination.
Accelerate R&D and Deployment
Fast-track the research, development, and commercial release of genome-edited, climate-tolerant crop varieties. Strengthen the lab-to-land linkage through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
Strengthen Bio-input Supply Chains
Establish stringent quality control standards and a reliable supply chain for biofertilizers and biopesticides to build farmer confidence and promote their use.
Promote Digital Inclusion
Invest in rural digital infrastructure and conduct large-scale digital literacy programs. Develop user-friendly, multilingual mobile applications for climate advisories.
Enhance Financial Mechanisms
Design innovative financial products like green credits, blended finance, and robust, index-based climate insurance to de-risk the transition for farmers.
Transitioning to Climate-Resilient Agriculture is a necessity for India to ensure food security, protect farmer livelihoods, and achieve sustainable development goals by building an 'Atmanirbhar Krishi' through a unified national roadmap integrating policy, science, and finance.
Source: THE HINDU
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. "Climate-Resilient Agriculture is not merely a choice but a strategic necessity for India's food security." Critically analyze. 250 words |
Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) is a modern farming approach designed to help agricultural systems withstand climate shocks and adapt to long-term environmental changes. It integrates advanced technologies like biotechnology, bio-inputs, and digital farming to ensure stable crop yields while minimising environmental impact.
The key government initiatives include the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), which focuses on research and technology demonstration, and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which promotes integrated farming, water-use efficiency, and soil health under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
The main challenges include low adoption by small farmers due to high costs and lack of awareness, inconsistent quality of bio-inputs, the slow process of developing and distributing resilient seeds, the rural digital divide limiting access to modern tools, and fragmented policy coordination between different government schemes.
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