Dr. Pawan Kumar Sharma & Dr. Amrish Vaid
Climate though is an external factor affecting agriculture, but it is the most crucial factor determining its production and productivity. Now, whether our climate is changing and changing to an extent that our agriculture is affecting is the question to ask. The data suggests that the world is witnessing a continuous change in climate; rates of global temperature and rising sea levels are increasing, ice sheets shrinking and ocean becoming warmer. More importantly, the occurrence of extreme weather events is increased. It was actually in the year 2007 that ‘The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ forecasts that developing countries will be affected by extreme weather variability such as temperature, severe water shortage, and flood-inducing rainfall events.
India also has witnessed a shift in its climate. The annually-averaged temperature in India has increased from 23.580C in 1901-1930 to 23.740C in 1930-1960 to 23.820C in 1960-1990 and to 24.120C in 1990-2012. The annual mean rainfall in India was recorded as 3159 cm in 1930-1960, 3441 cm in 1960-1990, 3314 cm in 1960-1990 and 2467 in 1990-2012. Thus, the overall picture is that temperature is showing an increasing trend and rainfall remain deficit, especially in recent years.
It is not that a prolonged dry spell or continuos heavy rains can devastate the field crops. Even a single day rain at a crucial stage of crop growth can bring down the productivity by a very large margin and in recent times, we have witnessed such types of unseasonal rains that have badly affected the productivity of crops.
So, if we agree that the climate is continuosly changing, then we have to recognize that our agriculture is under serious threat due to this change. One thing is certain that the threats and challenges will be more serious in rainfed and hilly areas due to more dependence on nature. In Jammu and Kashmir, we find a wide diversity in agro-ecological situations; within same district the climate varies from sub-tropical to temperate and therefore the effect of climate change on agriculture is more complex to recognize and manage.
According to a study, 70% of farmers in Poonch district perceived that there is a change in climate and alteration in climatic events in the last 10 years. They believed that erratic weather resulted in frequent re-sowing and fluctuations in yield of their major crops. This argument can be well supported by the fact that the compound growth rate of yield of major cereals w.e.f 2002-03 to 2011-12 in Poonch district was negative. The negative growth rate (-5.96%) was found to be highest for maize crop which is primarily the staple crop of people of the district.
So, what can we do to mitigate the challenge of climate change; whether we need to change our agricultural practices? If we examine our old traditional agricultural methods of maintaining soil health and conservation of moisture, we will find them very scientific, but the problem is that the farmers seldom practice such methods now a day and therefore we need to again popularize our own traditional practices for maintaining the productivity in agriculture. The traditional practices along with few innovative ideas can help in maintaining productivity of agriculture by minimizing effects of climate change.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kathua has adopted a kandi (rainfed) village for mitigating the negative effects of climate through demonstrations of such practices like deep summer ploughing and ploughing across the slope along with the introduction of short duration and drought tolerant varieties. The things are moving in a right direction with the active participation of local farmers in decision making.
Now, let us consider other options available to our farmers to prevent the effects of extreme and unpredictable weather events on their lives. Diversification is actually the key in handling unexpected weather conditions. The adoption of suitable Integrated Farming System Model and then the suitable cropping pattern with as many diversified crops as possible should be the focal point. The other valuable thing, if it can happen, is the universal adoption of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. If the farmers make it a habit of insuring their agricultural risks against extreme weather events, they can easily overcome the transition period of climate change without losing faith in profitability of age old profession of agriculture.
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel