Innovative Technologies That Can Make Indian Agriculture Resilient to Climate Change
While the Scientific American termed India’s 2019 monsoon floods as the world’s deadliest disaster that year, a related observation is both 2019 and 2020 saw above-average monsoon rains with erratic intensity, i.e. dry spells in July followed by an absolute deluge in August and September, reports News18 India.
India last saw such heavy downpour in 1994 and 1976, almost 20 years apart; but this time it struck in successive years. And this was after a drought in 2018. Climate change is undoubtedly accelerating India’s monsoon mayhem; and it is no wonder Indian activists like Licypriya Kangujam are following Sweden’s Greta Thunberg to red-flag the climate emergency.
The excessive and erratic monsoons were most destructive on the agriculture sector. Both years saw floods damage the standing crops. Excess rains during the crops’ growth stage, trimmed their size at places. Temperature variation increased pest attacks, destroying output. And the lack of storage and drying facilities rotted the perishable harvest that had high moisture content.
Both years saw Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, etc. and crops like soybean, onion, urad, sugarcane, potato, cotton, rice, tur and groundnut suffer. While acreage has risen in India, excessive and erratic rains ruined 32 lakh hectares of farmland in 2020, and an even greater area in 2019.
It is imperative to mainstream innovative technologies and processes in India that can help farm output, farmers’ livelihood and food security despite erratic and excessive rains, a climate trend that may only reoccur in future.
The FAO’s 2020 World Food Day stressed innovation-based changes for climate-resilient agriculture, implying this is a focus-area for global stakeholders. Some innovative technologies and processes are already demonstrating value, placing them well to be scaled up and replicated. They pertain to different aspects of the farming chain, but all of them help tackle climate threats.
Continue reading at News18 India.
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