Farming in a warming world

Mains Paper 2: Economy
Prelims level: Agriculture
Mains level: Land reforms in India. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy
and their effects on industrial growth

Context

•  The pervasiveness of climatic aberrations and the associated socio-economic vulnerability are now widely recognised and experienced across the globe.
•  The Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on “Global Warming at 1.5°C” distinctly propagates.
•  The need to strengthen and enhance existing coping capacity and to remain committed to the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Vital highlights from this report

•  The report establishes that the world has become 1°C warmer because of human activities, causing greater frequency of extremes and obstruction to the normal functioning of ecosystems.
•  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).
•  The magnitude of such projections depends on in-situ attributes and the level of developments.
•  A change in global warming, indigenous populations and local communities dependent on agricultural or coastal livelihoods are very vulnerable to the climate impacts.

Condition in India

•  India, with its diverse agro-climatic settings, is one of the most vulnerable countries.
•  Its agriculture ecosystem, distinguished by high monsoon dependence, and with 85% small and marginal landholdings, is highly sensitive to weather abnormalities.
•  There has been less than normal rainfall during the last four years, with 2014 and 2015 declared as drought years.
•  Even the recent monsoon season (June-September) ended with a rainfall deficit of 9%, which was just short of drought conditions.
•  Research is also confirming an escalation in heat waves, in turn affecting crops, aquatic systems and livestock.
•  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.
•  These projections underline the need for strategic change in dealing with climate change in agriculture.

Steps needed

•  There is a need to foster the process of climate adaptation in agriculture, which involves reshaping responses across both the micro- and macro-level decision-making culture.
•  At the micro-level, traditional wisdom, religious epics and various age-old notions about weather variations still guide farmers’ responses, which could be less effective.
•  Corroborating these with climate assessments and effective extension and promoting climate resilient technologies will enhance their pragmatism.
•  Climate exposure can be reduced through agronomic management practices 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.
•  Several studies indicate increasing perceptions of the magnitude of climate change and the need for farmers to adapt, but the process remains slow.
•  For instance, the NSS 70th round indicates that a very small segment of agricultural households utilised crop insurance due to a lack of sufficient awareness and knowledge.
•  Hence 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.

About SAPCC

•  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 with similar mandates is a must.
•  Greater expertise and consultations are required for a systematic prioritisation of actions and fiscal prudence for building climate resilient agriculture.

Way forward

•  Climate adaptation actions in agriculture are closely intertwined with rural developmental interventions, calling for a holistic new paradigm.
•  At the macro-level, climate adaptations are to be mainstreamed in the current developmental framework (which is still at a nascent stage, as acknowledged in the Economic Survey 2017-18).
   
•  The government document likely consequences of climate change, they lack systematic adaptation planning and resource conservation practices.
•  Mainstreaming adaptation into the policy apparatus has the potential to improve the resilience of several development outcomes.
•  The approach demands coherence across multiple policy scales as required for developing possible synergy between micro-macro levels and addressing several cross-cutting issues.
•  Moreover, this enables identification of several barriers that prevent up-scaling efforts and adaptation by farmers.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Which of the following statements is/are correct with regard to mega diverse countries?
1. A mega diverse country shall have at least 5000 of the world's plants as endemics.
2. It shall have marine ecosystem within its border to qualify for such a status.
3. No European country is a mega diverse country.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: D

Mains Questions:
Q.1) What are the efforts needed to make agriculture climate-resilient must be scaled up and consolidated?