Climate Change Impact on Agriculture
Source: PIB
GS III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
What you should know?
- About Climate Change Impact on Agriculture
- Impacts on Various Agri Products
- Challenges that the agriculture sector
Why in the News?
National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) conducted an assessment to evaluate the impact of climate change on agriculture.
About Climate Change Impact on Agriculture
- Almost 109 districts are categorized as very highly and 201 districts as highly vulnerable.
- Various projections based on crops to reduce
- Rice yields by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080.
- Irrigated rice yields by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios.
- Wheat yield by 19.3% in 2050 and 40% in 2080 scenarios.
- Kharif maize yields by 18 to 23% in 2050 and 2080 scenarios.
- Soybean yields are projected to increase by 3-10% in 2030 and 14% in 2080 scenarios.
- Climate change reduces crop yields and lowers the nutritional quality of produce.
Impacts on Various Agri Products
- Crops
- Ambient CO2 is beneficial which helps in increased photosynthesis.
- Major cereal crops, such as wheat, are expected to yield less due to shorter crop growth periods, increased respiration, and reduced rainfall or irrigation caused by rising atmospheric temperatures.
- Quality of food produce like fruits, vegetables, tea and coffee, are declining.
- Water
- Irrigation demands increased temperature impact the lowering of groundwater level.
- Decreased water in the Ganges and Brahmaputra regions.
- Increased frequency of floods and soil erosion.
- Soils
- A rise in sea level may lead to salt-water ingress.
- Changes in rainfall volume frequency and wind intensity may alter the severity, frequency and
extent of soil erosion.
- Fishery
- Due to higher sea surface temperature Coral bleaching is increasing.
- Increasing sea and river water temperature is likely to affect fish breeding, migration, and harvest.
Challenges that the agriculture sector
- Water availability is a result of changing rainfall patterns, alteration in stream flow and increase in crop water demand.
- Deterioration of water quality due to seawater intrusion, transport of salts from the deeper soil layers as a result of over-exploitation of aquifers and faulty irrigation practices.
- Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and cyclones would affect the production levels more than the impact of mean changes in the climate.
- Heat stress is due to higher temperature at a critical stage of crop growth.
- Unpredictable change in pest and disease load.
Daily Current Affairs: Click Here