The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of a new plan scheme ‘National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture’ to address climate change impact on agriculture and allied sectors.
The main objective of the Scheme is to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture and allied sectors in the country and evolve cost effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The Project is proposed at an estimated budget of Rs.350 crore for XI Plan out of which Rs.200 crore is to be spent during 2010-11 and Rs.150 crore during 2011-12 on research infrastructure, capacity building and on-farm demonstration of available climate resilient technologies.
About one lakh farmers will be directly benefited through on-farm demonstration of climate resilient technologies while the long term strategic research will evolve climate coping technologies that will be used by millions of farmers in the country.
The components of the scheme are:
1. Detailed vulnerability assessment of agro-climate regions and production systems, and the relative vulnerability of different crops, livestock and fishery sectors.
2. Initiate strategic research on adaptation and mitigation at seven major research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on natural resources, major food crops, livestock, marine and freshwater fisheries.
3. Demonstrate available climate resilient practices on farmers' fields in 100 most vulnerable districts of the country.
4. Strengthen research infrastructure to state of the art and capacity building of scientists for undertaking long term research on climate change adaptation.
The scheme will be implemented during the remaining part of the XI Plan i.e. 2010-11 and 2011-12. During the first year, the research infrastructure at key institutes of ICAR will be strengthened by installation of the state of the art equipments and measurement systems to study climate change impact on major food crops and livestock at an outlay of Rs.200 crore. A detailed vulnerability assessment of at least 15 National Agriculture Research Project (NARP) zones will be taken up during the year. Simultaneously, the existing best practices available from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) will be demonstrated in 100 most vulnerable districtsalready- selected, involving at least 1000 farmers in each district through KrishiVigyan Kendras.
During the 2011-12, long term strategic research programmes will be initiated on crop improvement to heat and drought stress, management of natural resources for adaptation and mitigation and innovative livestock management practices to minimize heat stress on animals.
The scheme would help in identification of at least 15-20 heat/drought tolerant promising cultivars of different crops by end of XI Plan. The outputs are expected to provide adequate resilience to the small and marginal farmers and reduce production losses at least by 25-30%.
The technology demonstration will be carried out in 100 districts of 27 States (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh. Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamiluadu, Tripura, Ultar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal) and one Union Territory (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).
<span>Background</span>
Climate change is threatening the growth and sustainability of the agricultural sector in India. Most models predict that rising temperatures and increased frequency of extreme events will significantly impact production of food grains, affecting both food security and the livelihoods of millions of small and marginal farmers. The scheme is proposed to address the important issues of impact of climate change in agriculture, and adjustment to it.
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=63
http://crida.ernet.in/Preparatory%20Workshop/MMaheshwari.pdf
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