Source: TH
Context:
India’s food system stands at a crossroads. Climate change is no longer a distant risk—it is already reshaping farming through erratic rainfall, frequent heatwaves, declining soil health, water stress, and rising pest pressures. For a country that must feed a rapidly growing population, sustaining agricultural productivity under these conditions requires a fundamental shift. This is where Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) becomes essential.
What Is Climate-Resilient Agriculture?
Climate-resilient agriculture refers to farming systems that anticipate, absorb, and adapt to climate shocks, while maintaining or improving productivity and environmental sustainability.
CRA integrates:
- Biotechnology tools:
- Biofertilizers and biopesticides to reduce chemical dependence
- Soil-microbiome analysis to restore soil health
- Genome-edited crops designed for tolerance to drought, heat, salinity, and pests
- Digital and AI technologies:
- AI-driven analytics that combine weather, soil, and crop data
- Precision irrigation, pest forecasting, and yield prediction
- Locally tailored advisories instead of one-size-fits-all practices
The goal is not just climate adaptation, but productive, low-input, and knowledge-intensive agriculture.
Why India Specifically Needs CRA
- India remains a predominantly agricultural nation, with livelihoods of millions tied to farming.
- Around 51% of India’s net sown area is rainfed, yet it produces nearly 40% of the country’s food—making it highly vulnerable to rainfall variability.
- Conventional input-intensive farming models are increasingly fragile under climate stress.
- Climate volatility threatens food security, farmer incomes, and rural stability.
CRA offers India a pathway to protect yields, reduce ecological damage, and stabilise farm incomes in a warming world.
Where Does India Stand Today?
Institutional Efforts
- In 2011, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) programme.
- Demonstrated location-specific practices such as:
- System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
- Aerobic and direct-seeded rice
- Zero-till wheat sowing
- Climate-resilient crop varieties
- In-situ residue management
- Implemented across 448 climate-resilient villages
- Demonstrated location-specific practices such as:
- The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture focuses on:
- Rainfed agriculture
- Water-use efficiency
- Soil health management
- Integrated farming systems
Policy & Market Developments
- The BioE3 policy positions CRA as a priority area for biotechnology-led solutions.
- Several bio-inputs are already commercialised.
- India’s agritech ecosystem is expanding rapidly, offering:
- AI-based crop advisories
- Precision irrigation
- Crop health monitoring and yield forecasting
Key Gaps and Risks
Despite progress, scaling CRA faces serious constraints:
- Low adoption among small and marginal farmers due to limited awareness, access, and affordability
- Quality inconsistencies in biofertilizers and biopesticides, eroding farmer trust
- Slow rollout of climate-resilient and genome-edited seeds, with uneven State-wise adoption
- A persistent digital divide, limiting reach of AI-based tools
- Continuing soil degradation, groundwater depletion, and climate volatility
- Fragmented policy coordination, diluting impact
Without addressing these, climate impacts may outpace adaptation efforts.
The Way Forward: Why a National CRA Roadmap Is Needed
India now needs a coherent, integrated national roadmap for climate-resilient agriculture, rather than isolated schemes.
Key priorities include:
- Accelerating R&D and deployment of climate-tolerant and genome-edited crops
- Strengthening quality standards and supply chains for bio-inputs
- Expanding digital infrastructure and climate advisories for small farmers
- Providing financial incentives, climate insurance, and affordable credit during transition
- Aligning biotechnology, climate adaptation, and agricultural policy under a single strategic framework—anchored in the BioE3 vision
