How India Can Minimise Climate Risk in Agriculture

Why in News?

• October 16 is observed as World Food Day to mark the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1945. The theme for this year’s World Food Day is ‘Water is Life. Water is Food.’
• In this context, it is important to review how far India has progressed in achieving food security, and how it is using its water resources in agriculture.

Assessment of India’s Progress in Achieving Food Security

• A Journey from Ship to Mouth in Cereals
  • India has gone through a journey of “ship to mouth” in mid 1960s,from that journey, India has come a long way.
  • Only in the last three years, 2020-21 to 2022-23, India exported 85 million tonnes (MT) of cereals, mainly rice, wheat and corn.
  • India has achieved this even after giving free food (rice or wheat) to more than 800 million people under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana which is an incredible achievement.
• Milk and Milk Products Sector: India has also made major strides in milk production which has gone up from 17 MT in 1951 to 222 MT in 2022-23.The country is the largest producer of milk by far. 
• Poultry and Fishery
  • Since 2000-01, poultry and fishery production has been growing at a fast rate.
  • So, from the green and white revolution, India has also now ushered in a pink (poultry) and blue (fishery) revolution.  

The Remaining Challenge in India’s Food Security Programme: Access to Nutritious Food

• Access to sufficient nutritious food remains a challenge for many and India’s national food security policy.
• According to the latest National Family Health Survey, almost 16.6 per cent of India’s population is malnourished (2020-22), 35 per cent of its children below the age of five years are stunted (low height-for-age) and 32 per cent are underweight (low weight-for-age).
• Progress on this front has been rather slow, and in a business-as-usual environment, India will not be able to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger (including malnutrition) by 2030. 

How is India Using its Water Resources in Agriculture?

• While India is home to almost 18 per cent of the world’s population, it has only 4 per cent of global freshwater resources.
• Much of this water is used in agriculture. While FAO puts this figure at 90 per cent, the Indian Central Water Commission says it is 78 per cent.
• With rising population, and rising incomes, there will be a need to produce not only more food but also save water for drinking purposes as also for manufacturing and growing urbanisation.

What Should be India’s Strategy with Respect to Water in Agriculture?

• On Supply Side: India must expand buffer stocking of water during the monsoon season in its reservoirs, and recharge groundwater through check dams and watersheds, etc.
• On Demand Side: India must work on the demand side to ensure more rational allocation and efficient use of water across crops.
• Institutional Reforms in Irrigation Along with Pricing and Power for Irrigation
  • To work on supply and demand side, India not only needs institutional reforms in the Indian irrigation sector but also in the pricing of water and power for irrigation.
  • While almost half of India’s gross cropped area is irrigated today, India needs to take it to at least 75 per cent if India has to cope with weather uncertainties associated with climate change. 

Challenges Associated with Implementation of Strategies w.r.t Water in Agriculture

• Lack of Private Investments: To implement strategies would require massive investments. India has not succeeded in attracting private sector investments in reservoirs and canal networks as water is almost free.
• Depleting Government Funds: The government does not have enough funds to invest after giving away large food and fertiliser subsidies costing more than Rs 4 lakh crore.
• Lack of Political Will at State Level
  • The state governments do not have the political will to charge for power that is used for groundwater irrigation.
  • Under such a scenario, Indian agriculture remains a risky venture in the wake of climate change.

Way Ahead for India to Minimise Climate Risk in Agriculture

• Need a Paradigm Shift in Thinking
  • First and foremost, the government needs to shift focus from land productivity to water productivity. For example, the government need not look at so much tonne/hectare, but of kg of grain per cubic metre of irrigation water.
  • After looking at productivity from a water angle, the government can identify the inefficiencies in the allocation and use of water in agriculture. For example, Punjab land productivity of rice is one of the highest, its irrigation water productivity is the lowest.
  • On top of this, Punjab also emits the highest levels of carbon emissions (CO2eq), almost 5 tonnes/ha of paddy cultivation.
  • All this calls for a revamping of policies, farm practices, and products, keeping water at the centre of agriculture.
• Reward Farmers for Switching to Less Water Intensive Crops
  • The government should start rewarding farmers for switching from water-guzzling crops like paddy and sugarcane to less water-intensive crops like millets, pulses and oilseeds. The Green water credits can play a significant role in this.
  • Research in Punjab shows that the subsidy from power and fertilisers in paddy cultivation amounts to roughly Rs 30,000/ha.
  • This amount should be redirected towards farmers in Punjab who are willing to switch from paddy to pulses, oilseeds, and millets.
  • This will create a level playing field across crops and would be good for the environment as well as nutrition.
  • Above all, it will save Punjab from water disaster as roughly 78 per cent of its blocks are over-exploiting groundwater.
• Promote Innovative and New Farming Techniques
  • Farming practices such as direct seeded rice (DSR) and alternate wet and dry (AWD) irrigation, or zero till, etc., can also be rewarded as they will save water.
  • Also, drip irrigation, especially in sugarcane, can save half the water. 

Conclusion

• To achieve global food and nutrition security, political commitment is needed as much as concrete investment.
• The needed policies and investments must promote innovative and proven technologies that allow farmers to increase their productivity, adapt to climate change and become more resilient to shocks.
• The bottom line is that unless India starts using water efficiently, ensuring sustainable food security is difficult.

Q1) How will climate change affect rice production?

Climate change will aggravate rice production under climatic variability. Rice growth is sensitive to temperature, where warm daytime temperatures provide ideal conditions, and extreme heat events over 35 °C for even a few hours can impair plant physiology and deteriorate rice quantity and quality. 

Q2) Why is the Rice cultivation called water guzzler? 

Rice, as grown in India is a water-guzzler, because farmers use on an average 15,000 litres to produce one kg of paddy, though water technologists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi say no more than 600 litres is needed if proper water management techniques are followed. Given that 45 per cent of the country's total irrigation water is used solely for rice cultivation, the need to improve farming methods is imperative.

Source: The Indian Express