By: Prof. R K Yadav (Deptt of Genetics and Plant Breeding C.S. Azad Univ. of Agril. & Tech. Kanpur & Sr. Associate Editor-ICN Group) and Dr. Shweta (Asstt. Professor)
Agriculture sector is the most prone sector as it will have a direct bearing on the living of 1.2 billion people. India has set a target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
KANPUR: India is home to 16% of the world population, but only 4% of the world water resources. may put agricultural activities at significant risk. Climate change has already caused significant damage to our present crop profile and threatens to bring even more serious consequences in the future (WHO, 1992). Wheat yields are predicted to fall by 5-10% with every increase of 1°C and overall crop yields could decrease up to 30% in South Asia by the mid-21st century. India could experience a 40% decline in agricultural productivity by the 2080s.
Rise in temperatures will affect wheat growing regions, placing hundreds of millions of people at the brink of chronic hunger. In India, the growing population is a major concern, and there is a need to understand the availability of water in terms of increase in population growth. Indian agriculture consumes about 80-85% of the nation’s available water.
The quantity of water required for agriculture has increased progressively through the years as more and more areas were brought under irrigation. Surface water and groundwater resources have played a significant role in irrigation and also in attaining self-sufficiency in food production during the past three decades.
Rainfall in India has a direct relationship with the monsoons which originate from the Indian and Arabian Seas. A warmer climate will accelerate the hydrologic cycle, altering rainfall, magnitude and timing of run-off. Warm air holds more moisture and it will result in an increase in evaporation of surface moisture. Climate change has a direct impact on crop evapotranspiration (ET).
In arid regions of Rajasthan state an increase of 14.8 per cent in total ET demand has been projected with increase in temperature. The study further indicates that even a marginal increase in ET demand due to global warming would have a larger impact on the fragile water resources of arid zone ecosystem of Rajasthan. Therefore, change in climate will affect the soil moisture, groundwater recharge, and frequency of flood or drought, and finally groundwater level in different areas.
Effect of climate change will affect water cycle. In addition, rise in sea level will increase the risk of permanent or seasonal saline intrusion into ground water and rivers which will have an impact on quality of water and its potential use of domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Climate change will have number of effects on agriculture. Higher temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will severely affect the production patterns of different crops.
Agricultural productivity will also be affected due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. All these changes will increase the vulnerability of the landless and the poor. Several recent analysis have concluded that the higher temperatures expected in coming years will disproportionately affect agriculture in the planet’s lower latitudes where most of the world’s poor live. In such a scenario, agriculture will need better management of natural resources like land, water and genetic resources to make it more resilient.
However, there are some innovative responses by water utilities to address these climate change risks and it has resulted in pushing the frontiers in a number of areas. It includes desalination, re-use and storm water harvesting and aquifer recharge. It would be worthwhile to give high priority to “more crops per drop” approach, rainwater harvesting, aquifer recharge, revival of water bodies and conservation technologies.
In the last decade, the Central Government has tried to address the issue through several initiatives such as subsidies for micro-irrigation (which optimizes water usage for agriculture), national watershed development project for rain fed areas and artificial recharge to ground water through dug wells in hard rock areas and rural water supply enhancement programmed through the catchment area approach.Our agriculture is more prone to monsoon rains as we are growing high water requiring crops like rice and sugarcane. We should increase area under low water requiring but high value crops like pulses and oilseeds to counter the erratic monsoons.
Global climate change is not a new phenomenon. The effect of climate change poses many threats; one of the important consequences is bringing about changes in the quality and quantity water resources and crop productivity. It can be concluded that the Indian region is highly sensitive to climate change.
Agriculture sector is the most prone sector as it will have a direct bearing on the living of 1.2 billion people. India has set a target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. There is an urgent need for coordinated efforts to strengthen the research to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture, forests, animal husbandry, aquatic life and other living beings.
