(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Prioritising Climate Smart Agriculture

(GIST OF YOJANA) Prioritising Climate Smart Agriculture

[January-2022]

Prioritising Climate Smart Agriculture

Introduction:

Around 54.6 percent of India’s total workforce is engaged in agriculture and allied activities. The development of the sector, naturally, has been a key priority for the Government of India. Climate change, however, has emerged as a matter of concern to Indian agriculture.
The countrywide decline in major crop yields due to climate change effects between 2010 and 2039 could be as high as 9 percent.
The estimated impacts of both historical and future climate change on cereal crop yields in different regions indicate that such yield loss can be up to 35 percent for rice, 20 percent for wheat, 50 percent for sorghum, 13 percent for barley, and 60 percent for maize depending on the location, future climate scenarios and projected year.

In human terms, this could make large swathes of small farmers’ landholdings unviable due to the following factors.

Water Conflict: Around 80-90 percent of the country’s water consumption occurs within the agriculture and allied space. Despite such an outsized water consumption pattern, roughly half of the country’s agriculture is rainfed, vulnerable to weather patterns and having volatile yields. The practice of flood irrigation makes Indian agriculture’s water efficiency poor, where Indian agriculture requires 2-3 times water consumption compared to other major agricultural countries.
Land Fragmentation: Studies have placed the root cause of poverty in India to be land fragmentation- the average size of landholdings have come down to 1.08 hectares, with two-thirds of all holdings being below 1 hectare. Incomes from cultivation tend to follow fragmentation measures, whereby average monthly per capita income from agriculture ranges from Rs. 2,311 in Punjab to Rs. 250 in West Bengal. Such fragmentation prevents economies of scale and holdings below and around 1hectare (i.e., marginal holdings) tend to be insufficient to provide for a family’s consumption needs. Marginal holdings are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Soil Chemistry: The incorrect use of fertilisers as also changing climatic patterns have been changing soil chemistry across India. The problems of salinisation, desertification, and degradation are direct consequences of poor agricultural practices. These processes would be intensified by climate change, adversely impacting productivity and arable land.

Climate-smart agriculture:

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that helps guide actions to transform agri-food systems towards green and climate resilient practices.
It aims to tackle three main objectives sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible.
What constitutes a CSA practice is context specific, depending on local socio-economic environmental and climate change factors. FAO recommends the approach is implemented through five action points: expanding the evidence base for CSA, supporting enabling policy frameworks, strengthening national and local institutions, enhancing funding and financing options, and implementing CSA practices at field level.

Three Pillars of CSA:

Productivity: CSA aims to sustainably raise agricultural productivity and incomes from agricultural and allied activities while balancing concerns relating to the environment. A
central focus of this endeavour is to promote food and nutrition security. A key concept related to raising productivity is sustainable intensification, described as “an approach using innovations to increase productivity on existing agricultural land with positive environmental and social impacts. Both words, ‘sustainable’ and ‘intensification’, carry equal weight. Sustainable intensification takes into consideration the impact on overall farm productivity, profitability, stability, production and market risks, resilience, as well as the interests and capacity of individual farmers to adopt innovations. It is not limited to environmental concerns, but also includes social and economic criteria such as improving livelihoods, equity and social capital.”
Adaptation: CSA aims to reduce the exposure of farmers to short-term risks, while also strengthening their resilience by building their capacity to adapt and prosper in the face of shocks and longer-term stresses. Particular attention is given to protect the ecosystem services which ecosystems provide to farmers and others. These services are essential for maintaining productivity and our ability to adapt to climate changes.
Mitigation: The minimisation of emissions and the maximisation of carbon capture is a core concern of CSA. This implies a reduction of emissions for each calorie or kilo of food, fibre and fuel that is produced. The prevention of deforestation, adoption of sustainable practices, and the management of soils and trees in ways that maximises their potential to act as carbon sinks and absorb carbon from the atmosphere is a part of mitigation.

Characteristics of CSA:

CSA differs from conventional agricultural paradigms due to the following.

CSA attempts to address climate change’s causes and effects: Contrary to conventional agricultural development, CSA systematically integrates climate change into the planning and development of sustainable agricultural systems.
CSA integrates multiple goals and manages multiple trade-offs: CSA’s three primary pillars are interrelated concerns- increased productivity, enhanced resilience and reduced emissions. However, the resultant trade-offs often cannot maximise the pillars simultaneously, only optimise them. Thus, costs and associated benefits must be weighed situation to situation, based on stakeholder objectives and identifying underlying synergies.
CSA maintains ecosystem services: Ecosystems provide the agricultural sector with a number of ‘unpaid’ services-clean natural water, materials, food, sunlight, etc. CSA attempts
to ensure the sustainability of these services, preventing their degradation.
CSA has multiple entry points at different levels: CSA is not a rigid set of particular practices, technologies, or methodologies- it is only a concept amenable to adaptation. It has multiple entry points, ranging from the development of technologies and practices to the elaboration of climate change models and scenarios, information technology, insurance schemes, value chains and the strengthening of institutional and political enabling environments. As such, it goes beyond single technology at the farm level and includes the integration of multiple interventions at the food system, landscape, value chain or policy level.
CSA has context-specificity: What is appropriate sustainable practice in a marshland may prove inappropriate in an arid land. According to the context of the situation, interventions must take into account how different elements interact at the landscape level, within or among ecosystems and as a part of different institutional arrangements, social realities and political structures. This reduces the scope for transference of lessons from one place to another.
CSA involves the marginalised: The vulnerable and marginalised, inclusive of women, often possess the marginal lands which are most vulnerable to climate events like drought
and floods. They are, thus, most likely to be affected by climate change. The relevant sub-goal is to build up the adaptive capacity of these vulnerable stakeholders so that they can build their capacity to endure natural disasters. Naturally, the governing systems of the place and the relative bargaining powers of stakeholders must be taken into account. The Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) programme of the FAO generates technical knowledge, working on the ground and with partners within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It offers a macro framework to address CSA through the following:

Monitoring and assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the mitigation potential in agriculture;
Developing the capacity of stakeholders working on national GHG inventories and farmers using CSA practices;
Carrying out life cycle assessments to guide decision making;
Giving guidance on climate change mitigation and adaptation options, including for peatlands and organic soils;
Mainstreaming gender in CSA, facilitating online communities of practice, and running
online learning events.

Key Government Initiatives on CSA:

The Government of India has multiple overarching programmes to deliver CSA elements to Indian farmers in an affordable, accessible, and adaptable manner.

National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)launched a flagship network project ‘National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture’ (NICRA) in 2011. The project aims at strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, demonstration of technologies on farmers’ fields and creating awareness among farmers and other stakeholders to minimise the climatic change impacts on agriculture.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

NMSA derives its mandate from Sustainable Agriculture Mission which is one of the eight Missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The NMSA aims at promoting sustainable agriculture through a series of adaptation measures focusing on ten key dimensions encompassing Indian agriculture namely; ‘Improved Crop Seeds, Livestock and Fish Cultures’, ‘Water Use Efficiency’, ‘Pest Management’, ‘Improved Farm Practices’, ‘Nutrient Management’, ‘Agricultural insurance’, ‘Credit Support’, ‘Markets’, ‘Access to Information’ and ‘Livelihood Diversification’.

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change

The overall aim of NAFCC is to support concrete adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. The activities under this scheme are implemented in a project mode. The projects related to adaptation in sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry, tourism, etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the National Implementing Entity (NIE). The dedicated window for climate finance fosters a spirit of competitive federalism among states and encourages enhanced climate action.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been formulated with the vision of
extending the coverage of irrigation ‘Har Khet ko pani’ and improving water use efficiency ‘More crop per drop’ in a focused manner with end to end solution on source creation, distribution, management, field application and extension activities. The Scheme contains within itself a Micro-Irrigation Fund (MIF), a focus on protective irrigation, and water use efficiency interventions to not only expand India’s irrigation networks but improve its efficiency in a climate conscious manner.

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) and Organic Agriculture

There has been a conscious effort from the government to promote ZBNF, and other kinds of organic farming across India. Use of high yield variety (HYV) seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers in modern agriculture have long term impacts on soil, human, and environmental health. These inputs are also costly for small farmers, who are forced to take on debt for the same. The result is that during times of climate change, when the farmers’ vulnerabilities are increasing, they are faced with the possibility of debt traps owing to falling yields and extreme weather events. Zero Budget Natural Farming, as also other indigenous kinds of organic farming techniques, offers a commercially viable and environmentally friendly alternative.