Agriculture

Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns could alter the growing season and cropping patterns. The demand for water for irrigation is projected to rise in a warmer climate, bringing increased competition between agriculture - already the largest consumer of water resources in semiarid regions - and urban as well as industrial users. With irrigation systems falling vulnerable to irregular monsoons, climate-driven water scarcity and increased frequency of droughts will adversely affect food production and animal husbandry especially in subsistence sectors.

Resource-poor small landholders, pastoralists and fisherfolk will suffer complex and localised effects of climate change such as decline in soil fertility, proliferation of weeds and pests, a situation that will require the further development and application of integrated pest management techniques. With declining crop production, regional vulnerabilities to food deficits could increase due to problems of distributing and marketing.   For subsistence farmers and more so for people who now face a shortage of food, lower yields may result not only in measurable economic losses, but also in malnutrition and even famine.

To build the resilience of the farming community against such climatic shocks, it is imperative to significantly invest in agricultural research and infrastructure. This would help to identify the specific ways though which farmers can successfully adapt to present variations in climate. Critical information on drought-resistant crop varieties, land restoration and soil conservation practices, integrated water resource management is needed to cope with climate variability. Also, to hedge the risks that farmers face as a result of climate uncertainties, government needs to devise suitable crop insurance policies and provide green subsidies for clean farming methods.