India, Bhutan discuss growing climate change-resistant crops
India and Bhutan have discussed the possibility of developing crops resistant to climate change in a bid to keep agriculture apace with warmer global condition.
“Research will be done for new kinds of crops to address those issues,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran during his three-day visit to Bhutan.
Saran, who met Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley and senior government officials, told state-run daily ‘Kuensel’ that the two neighbours share the Himalayas, which have the same reports on melting glaciers and lake formations that could significantly impact on agriculture and food security.
“Agriculture is dependent on climate, as monsoon determines the harvest in South Asia,” he said. “We already experience untimely rainfall, too much rain within short period of time, flooding and drought because of rising temperature, which will have a great impact in the future.”
Bhutan, to some extent, depends on Indian’s food items, particularly rice, and, if India is not secure in terms of food, Bhutan might be affected as well.
“At the moment, agriculture production in India is not seriously affected by climate change and we also have large food stocks maintained over many years,” he said.
Source: News4u