Amarpal Singh Verma
Climate change has become a challenge for the whole world. Climate change is having a wide impact on various sectors. Our agriculture is also being affected by it. Crores of farmers are being affected due to the adverse effect of climate change on agriculture. A recent survey report reveals the wide effects of climate change on agriculture. According to this report, 80 percent of marginal farmers in India have suffered crop losses due to adverse climate events in the last five years.
Experts around the world have been warning about the dangers of climate change for a long time, but it has not been taken with the required seriousness. Climate change has started being discussed, but effective measures to deal with it are not being worked upon seriously. We all know that due to climate change, the rainfall pattern is changing. Sometimes there is excessive rainfall and sometimes drought, which affects the production of crops. In the recent two-three years, the growth of crops has been affected by high temperatures. Many crops like wheat could not tolerate the extreme temperatures, which has reduced their yield.
High temperatures and humidity conditions have increased the infestation of pests and diseases. In the cotton belt of northern India, pink bollworm has been eating away the cotton crop for the last several years. Dealing with the crop diseases that the agriculture department knows about is proving to be a difficult task. On top of that, there is also a fear that due to climate change, some new diseases may also attack the crops, for which farmers do not have proper preparation.
Experts say that many disadvantages of climate change are affecting agriculture. Climate change is causing drought conditions in different parts of the country, due to which groundwater is being exploited excessively, which is causing a drop in the water level. Wherever excessive rainfall is being observed, due to this, soil erosion is taking place, reducing its fertility. In drought conditions, salinity in the soil increases, which hinders the growth of crops.
In recent years, farmers are facing uncertainty in crop yields due to changing climate patterns. In the last decade, there has been a situation of sometimes high yield and sometimes low yield.
The extent to which the damage caused by climate change has become visible can be gauged from the results of a survey conducted by the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) in collaboration with the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU). This report states that in the last five years, 80 percent of marginal farmers in India have suffered crop loss due to adverse climate events.
This survey has not been conducted in a limited area, but the situation has been gauged by talking to 6,615 farmers in 21 states of the country. The results of the survey show that the primary causes of crop loss are drought (41 percent), irregular rainfall including excessive or unseasonal rains (32 percent) and early or late return of monsoon (24 percent).
About 43 percent of the farmers included in the survey have lost at least half of the standing crops in the fields. Rice, vegetables and pulses have been particularly affected by uneven rainfall.
The survey report highlights how farmers are suffering losses due to excess and shortage of water in some parts of the country. This survey report shows that in the northern states of the country, paddy fields often remain submerged for more than a week, due to which newly planted plants are destroyed. On the other hand, sowing of various crops like rice, maize, cotton, soybean, groundnut and pulses has been delayed due to less rainfall in states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal.
In the last two-three years, high temperatures have affected the growth of crops in various states including Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh. Many crops like wheat could not bear the extreme temperature, due to which their yield has decreased. This is confirmed by the survey report. The early onslaught of summer heatwaves in 2022 affected the wheat crop in the country and production fell to 107.7 million tonnes from 109.59 million tonnes in 2021. This forced the world’s second-largest wheat producer to ban exports. Heat again affected wheat production in 2023, reducing production by about 3 million tonnes against the government target.
There is a need to be aware of the ill effects of climate change on agriculture. There is already discontent among farmers in the country due to continuously decreasing income. Farmers have been agitating for a long time. If the income of farmers falls further (even if climate change is responsible for this), then the sense of despair will increase among them. This despair will give rise to many problems. It is natural that food security is under threat due to a decrease.
Necessary steps have to be taken to deal with climate change because problems are sure to increase in the future. Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) has also warned that climate change is no longer a threat present on the horizon. This threat is imminent.
The scorching heat of the year 2024 is confirming the looming danger of this warning. By constantly messing with nature, we have now reached a point where there is no other option but to develop climate-friendly strategies. If agriculture is to be saved and food shortages are to be avoided and conditions of starvation are to be avoided, then farmers will have to move towards adopting all sustainable agricultural practices in accordance with climate change, including cultivation of drought-resistant crops, mixed farming and conservation of natural resources.
Efforts will have to be made to save water by adopting modern methods of irrigation like drip and sprinkler irrigation. Our agricultural scientists have been advocating the promotion of crop diversity for decades. Now if the outbreak of pests and diseases is to be controlled, then crop diversity is the only solution. It is important that we do not do anything that increases the risk of climate change. Farmers will have to focus on sowing climate-friendly crops. Agricultural research institutes will have to take the important responsibility of studying the effects of climate change and giving proper advice to farmers. The adverse effect of climate change on agriculture is a serious challenge, which requires collective efforts to solve it. The challenge of climate change can be faced in a planned manner by adopting sustainable and favorable agricultural practices. Only if we do this, it is possible to ensure food security for future generations.
The author is an independent journalist and can be reached at vermaamarpalsingh@gmail.com
