Climate Change And Food Production
- An increase in number of days with extreme temperatures or rain has caused a decline in quality and size of seeds across India, Down to Earth has reported.
- There has been groing evidence on the link between high temperature and yield across crops, such as maize and soybeans.
- Scientists are developing disease- and climate- resilient varieties to counter this problem
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been releasing varieties that can fight heat, disease and extreme weather since 2005.
- In February 2023, IARI registered a new heatwave-resistant wheat variety, HD3385.
- The variety is sown early and harvested by March-end, before extreme heat sets in.
- Rate of rise in agricultural productivity has declined over the past 50 years due to climate change.
Excessive Dependence On Garoundwater
- A Parliamentary Standing Committee report, tabled recently in the Lok Sabha, highled that India’s irrigation system depends excessively on Groundwater.
- Groundwater is a valuable natural resources, but it has been depleting for a long time, water-intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane command higher minimum support price (MSP).
- The committee has recommended that the three departments, namely river development, ganga rejuvenation and water resources should engage with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to encourage fewer water-intensive cultivation crops and cultivation patterns.
- The proposed central groundwater authority central groundwater authority, the report noted.
- It further recommended amendment of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, “to enable pollution control boards to impose monetary penalties, as a less severe penalty than the outright closure of industrial units”.
- There are schemes for recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting in urban areas, such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The Committee recommended that the Jal Shakti ministry coordinate these efforts.