Topic – climate change
4) Discuss how India can deal with vagaries of climate change and its impact of agriculture?(250 words)
Why this question
The question explain India’s risk profile to changing climatic conditions and explores the options our farmers have in coping with such changes.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to first highlight the risk that India faces as a result of climate change and thereafter examine what kind of smart agriculture would be suited for India’s needs to deal with such vagaries of nature.
Directive word
Discuss- This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer
Introduction – highlight the fact that farmers in several parts of India have suffered as a result of unusual weather events.
Body
- Discuss India’s risk profile to climate change – India is fortunate to have the monsoon, but it is also uniquely vulnerable to rising temperatures, with the country ranked 14th on the Global Climate Risk Index 2019. The country has over 120 million hectares suffering from some form of degradation. This has consequences, especially for marginal farmers. According to one estimate, they may face a 24-58% decline in household income and 12-33% rise in household poverty through exacerbated droughts. With rain-fed agriculture practised in over 67% of our total crop area, weather variability can lead to heavy costs, especially for coarse grains
- Discuss the potential solutions –
- Promotion of conservation farming and dryland agriculture, with each village provided with timely rainfall forecasts
- weather-based forewarnings
- mandate to change planting dates, particularly for wheat, should be considered, which could reduce climate change induced damage by 60-75% etc
- Highlight what India should do in this regard.
Conclusion – give your view and discuss way forward.
