CLIMATE CHANGE AND INDIAN AGRICULTURE

About 6 million years ago, the story of human evolution began with an apelike ancestor and since then humans have continued to evolve ranging from gaining the characteristics to walk, utilize the brain, form, and seek language to modern days of utilizing Human Resources for fast pace development. However, the being of human civilization began about 12000 years ago, when humans started doing agriculture and domestication. Slowly, we discovered the multitude of things required for survival and as the ages progressed, we continued to invent and utilize resources for our needs.

During the 18th century, human civilization reached another milestone and marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Industrialization together with itself carried numerous advantages to the economy whereas numerous disadvantages to the environment. Production and use of vehicles during the era emitted carbon dioxide gas which continued to increase its composition in the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps the heat for keeping the earth warmer but, when the amount of gas is increased, it traps more heat which in turn results in the rise in the global temperature leading to global warming which later becomes one of the major threats to climate change.

Climate Change is the longer-term shift in the weather patterns of a region. Climate Change led to numerous environmental challenges in the world such as extreme heat waves due to global temperature rise, flooding and sinking of cities due to sea level rise and glaciers melting, and food insecurity. One of the major areas where it is impacting the most in India is Indian Agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. It contributes to about 17% of the total GDP in the nation and ranks second worldwide in agriculture production. The sector employs more than half of the Indian population. Additionally, it plays a significant role in international trade, income of the nation, food security, and the industrial sector as a raw material. India exports crops such as team jute, cashew nuts, tobacco, coffee, species, etc internationally. But, lately, due to climate change, Indian Agriculture has been facing several hurdles and losses. 

The largest impact factor of climate change on Indian Agriculture is the change in the weather patterns which has been leading to numerous extreme weather events frequently such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, and disturbed rainfall events, resulting in 0.25% of the loss of India’s GDP. Indian weather, specifically rainfall, is influenced by two natural phenomena: El Nino in which the Pacific Ocean and sea surface are warmer than average and winds are usually weak whereas La Nina in which the Pacific Ocean and seas surface are cooler than average and winds are usually strong. Due to the triple dip that occurred in La Nina and climate change, there has been a significant impact on the weather patterns leading to severe floods and Cyclones. Research shows that between 2001 and 2019, the Arabian Sea had 28 cyclones whereas there has been a rise in cyclonic storms by 150% in the past several years. 

Initially, due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm leading to flood-like conditions, about 5.23 lakh wheat crops were damaged this year. Several places such as Haryana suffered from the loss of 1.3 million hectares of paddy crop whereas in the last six years, about 33.9 million hectares of crops were lost due to floods. The condition was such that the Indian government banned wheat export due to low production last year. The flood causes complex abiotic stress on the crops, reduces light availability, leads to low oxygen levels, and disturbed the chemical characteristics of the soil. 

Drought is another big challenge to loss in Indian Agriculture due to climate change. Where some crops received more than sufficient water for cultivation, some did not even get the sufficient and bare minimum water for cultivation. Data shows that 700 blocks in 91 Districts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal, and Bihar suffered from drought after receiving 46% less rainfall which later led to seed germination failure. About 75% of crops of paddy suffered from productive seed germination period due to drought. 42% of the crop field are located in the rainfed areas in the country which are prone to drought accounting for about 65% of germination areas and 48% of food crop areas. With such a large amount of fields in the rainfed areas, the Indian farmers suffer from heavy financial loss and face several difficulties in taking care of their families as 78% of the Indian Farmers are small farmers and 71% rely on rainwater for harvesting. 

Furthermore, during the time of heat waves, the evaporation increases which over dry the soil due to the depletion of resources and absorption of radiation. It leads to an increase in the demand for water for irrigation and reduces crop yield. Research shows that if the temperature increase by 1 degree, the productivity of food crops such as wheat, potato, etc decline by 3.7 degrees. It also has a significant impact on germination as the optimal temperature for germination is about 20 - 25 Degrees which went above the maximum temperature due to the hot February and March this year leading to grain loss. Last year, we witnessed severe loss in the harvest due to the worst heatwave in 122 years. Decreasing levels of water resources due to climate change have been leading to unequal access to irrigation and variation in the cultivated areas leading to inequality in the agricultural sector.

World has crossed the 8 billion mark and this growing population needs immense food and resources to survive, hence if we do not take action now, a day will come when we will have to suffer for even one grain for survival. 

References:
[1] Pandey, K. (2022, November 7). A year of extreme weather events has weighed heavy on India’s agricultural sector. Mongabay-India. https://india.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-india-climate-impact-on-agriculture-is-already-a-reality-now/

[2] Impact of Drought in India. (n.d.). Unacademy. https://unacademy.com/content/upsc/disaster-management-notes/impact-of-drought-in-india/

[3] What are heat waves, El Nino and how does it affect agriculture and your pocket? (n.d.). The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/how-to/what-are-heat-waves-el-nino-and-how-does-it-affect-agriculture-and-your-pocket/articleshow/99069251.cms

[4] For Second Year in Succession, Indian Agriculture Battles Climate Change. (n.d.). The Wire. https://thewire.in/agriculture/for-second-year-in-succession-indian-agriculture-battles-climate-change

[5] Jain, M., Fishman, R., Mondal, P., Galford, G. L., Bhattarai, N., Naeem, S., Lall, U., B. S., & DeFries, R. S. (2021, February 24). Groundwater depletion will reduce cropping intensity in India. PubMed Central (PMC). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd2849

[6] Crops Of Over 10,000 Farmers Destroyed In Unseasonal Rain | Allahabad News - Times of India. (n.d.). The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/crops-of-over-10000-farmers-destroyed-in-unseasonal-rain/articleshow/98928890.cms

[7] Impact of Heat Waves on Agriculture: Affected Crops and How to Protect from Extreme Hot Weather. (2023, March 13). Agri Farming. https://www.agrifarming.in/impact-of-heat-waves-on-agriculture-affected-crops-and-how-to-protect-from-extreme-hot-weather

[8] Wang, X., Liu, Z., & Chen, H. (2022, March 30). Investigating Flood Impact on Crop Production under a Comprehensive and Spatially Explicit Risk Evaluation Framework. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12040484

[9] Gogoi, A. (2019, April 3). 42% India’s Land Area Under Drought, Worsening Farm Distress In Election Year. 42% India’s Land Area Under Drought, Worsening Farm Distress in Election Year. https://www.indiaspend.com/42-indias-land-area-under-drought-worsening-farm-distress-in-election-year/