As the climate continues to heat up and the impacts of global warming grow more frequent and severe, farmers and farm communities around the world have been increasingly challenged. While the agriculture sector is responsible for climate change due to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, it is also severely impacted by the effects of changing climate. Climate change is also threatening India’s agricultural growth with frequent dry spells, heat waves and erratic rainfall. Besides, the changing rainfall patterns in the form of delayed onset or early withdrawal has adversely affected the cropping cycle and farm operations.
- Measures That Can Be Taken:-
• Low External Input Systems: Moving our current agricultural production systems from an input-intensive regime to low external input systems requires engaging with farmers to first demonstrate alternate practices and then convincing them to change their practices. Concepts such as Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) are receiving increased attention as a sustainable alternative to chemical farming.
• Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF): It encourages farmers to use low-cost locally sourced input and should be promoted to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• Small and Marginal Farmers: They should be persuaded to shift to alternate packages of practices, demonstrated the effectiveness of these practices and encouraged to work in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendras to increase the outreach. For example, Cotton farmers in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district are making the shift to a package of practices that lower the use of water (through in-situ soil moisture conservation and other demand management measures), promote the use of bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides as a means to reduce the cost of cultivation and lower the environmental footprint of cotton cultivation.
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