In a proactive move to counteract the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture, the Indian government has taken significant steps by constituting two scientific panels.
These panels, housed within the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre in New Delhi, aim to establish an advanced nationwide agricultural weather information system and implement technology-driven assessments of crop yields. The overarching goal is to alleviate the repercussions of extreme weather events associated with climate change, which have significantly affected crop yields and farm incomes across the country. India, heavily reliant on agriculture with the sector employing half of the nation’s workforce and contributing 18% to the GDP, faces imminent threats from severe heatwaves, erratic rainfall patterns, and flooding. Climate scientists have consistently warned that these phenomena pose significant risks to the nation’s food security, particularly impacting rice and wheat cultivation, critical for sustaining the population.
Recent years have witnessed devastating effects on agricultural output, with heatwaves adversely affecting wheat production and late surges in monsoon leading to floods that damage crops such as oilseeds, pulses, and rice. Consequently, federally held food stocks, notably wheat, have dwindled to a 16-year low, prompting the government to impose export bans, further exacerbating the strain on farm incomes. To address these challenges, the first panel is tasked with deploying high-tech automatic weather stations to generate real-time data and forecasts. This information will assist farmers and policymakers in preparing for temperature variations, droughts, and extreme rainfall events effectively. Meanwhile, the second panel focuses on expediting the calculation of yield losses due to extreme weather conditions, facilitating quicker payouts of farm insurance under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
India’s transition to more advanced technologies, such as the Yield Estimation System based on Technology (YES-Tech), underscores the government’s commitment to enhancing agricultural resilience. This initiative, leveraging satellite data and artificial intelligence, aims to provide accurate yield estimates and improve the implementation of farm insurance schemes. As rising temperatures and changing weather patterns continue to pose challenges to Indian agriculture, the government’s proactive measures signal a concerted effort to safeguard the farming sector from the adverse effects of climate change. By embracing technology and scientific expertise, India aims to bolster its agricultural resilience and ensure food security for its burgeoning population in the face of climate-induced challenges.
