IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON AGRICULTURE – ENVIRONMENT
News:
● National
innovations in climate resilient agriculture study about the impact of global
warming on agriculture
Key takeaways:
● The
area of coverage under kharif (monsoon) crops, like paddy and pulses, have
declined to some degree.
● The
stock of certain food grains indicates a depreciating surplus in the central
pool when compared to the corresponding period last few years.
● As
per the studies, rainfed rice yields in
India are projected to reduce marginally (<2.5%) in 2050 and 2080 and
irrigated rice yields by 7% in 2050 and 10% in 2080 scenarios.
● Wheat yield is projected
to reduce by 6-25% in 2100 and maize yield by
18-23%.
Major climatic events of global warming:
1. Heat Wave:
● The
abnormal increase in maximum and minimum temperatures during 2022 impacted
crops, fruits, vegetables, and animals.
● For
example, North India was hit with heat waves, hitting wheat harvest across Punjab,
Haryana, and UP.
2. Excessive Rain:
● Heavy
rainfall in India has damaged key
summer-sown crops such as rice, soybean, cotton, pulses, and vegetables
just before harvesting.
● For
example, farmers in Meghalaya have been hit by untimely and excessive rains
damaging ginger to forest edibles.
3. Drought:
● India
was identified as one of the most severely drought-affected countries in the
assessment.
● Drought affected nearly
two-thirds of the country from 2020 to 2022.
● As
per sources, India's drought-prone area has increased by 57% since 1997.
4. Cyclone:
● Heavy
rains, brought by a cyclone, damage crops, and vegetables just before
harvesting in key growing regions.
● For
example, Cyclone Tauktae was the
strongest storm to hit the west coast of India in over 20 years which damaged
the crops before harvesting.
Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture:
1. Decrease in Productivity:
● According
to the vulnerability assessment done by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the overall
productivity of paddy, irrigated paddy, wheat, and maize might decrease between
2050 and 2080.
● The
decrease in productivity of major crops will be marginal in the next few years
but it could fall to as much as 10-40% by 2100 unless farming adapts to climate
change-induced changes in weather.
2. Drop-in farm income:
● The
government’s Economic Survey 2018
reports that every one-degree Celsius rise in temperature could reduce
agricultural income by 6.2% in kharif and 6% in the rabi season in
non-irrigated areas.
3. Food security:
● Vulnerability
of Indian agriculture due to vagaries associated with climate change and low adaptation capacity of majority of Indian
farmers poses risk to food security of the country.
● By
2030, India may need 70 million tonnes more food grains than the expected
production in 2016-17.
4. Economic Losses:
● According
to the Economic Survey estimates, India currently incurs losses of about $9-10 billion annually due to extreme weather
events.
● For
every two-degree rise in temperature, the agriculture GDP of India will reduce
by five percent.
5. Benefit to few crops:
● Though
most crops will see reduced production, climate change may also help improve
yields of soybean, chickpea, groundnut, coconut (western coast) and potato (in
Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh).
6. Affect soil fertility:
● Increased
temperature leads to loss of moisture from the soil and soil organic matter
which will affect soil fertility and decrease yields.
Steps Taken by the Government:
1. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
(NMSA):
● To
make agriculture productive, sustainable and remunerative and climate
resilient.
● It
also developed the capacity of farmers and stakeholders in the domain of climate-change adaptation and mitigation
measures.
2. Soil Health Card Scheme:
● In
2015 which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers
required for the individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity
through judicious use of inputs.
3. Climate Change Knowledge Network in Indian
Agriculture:
● To
establish ICT-enabled approaches for
knowledge exchange on climate-change adaptation in Indian agriculture.
4. The eArik Project:
● It
was initiated in the North East to
disseminate climate-smart agricultural
practices.
5. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:
● Is
in the direction of the government saving farmers from the wrath of frequently
changing climate patterns.
6. Pradhan Mantri KUSUM Yojana:
● Government
gives subsidies to the farmers to install solar
powered motor pump sets.