Impact of climate change on agriculture, worrying drop in the growth rate

New -Delhi, December 23 (IANS). Climate change has emerged as a major challenge for sustainable agriculture, as the irregular monsoon influenced the agricultural production of India, this food inflation increased. The government has been forced to take measures such as prohibiting exports. The growth rate of the country’s agricultural sector dropped to only 1.2 percent in the July-September quarter due to the decline in production due to bad weather. This has an adverse effects on the current Rabi season and the total sown area has dropped by more than three percent due to a lower monsoon. The soil does not have moisture and the storage of water in the reservoirs has decreased. The area of ​​wheat and pulses fell by three and eight percent respectively, and further concerns about the decline in food production have increased. There is now a major concern for policymakers and the scientific community to develop dynamic reaction strategies to deal with this complicated event of climate change, especially in some countries, large areas are still dependent on rain in agriculture. Despite the current decline in the Rabi area, Ministry of Agriculture officials believe that the difference may reduce within the next few weeks. They estimate that the total sown area for Rabi crops can reach the average level (648 lakh hectare) over the past five years. Officials consider the reason for the decline in the pulses of the pulses and consider the tendency of late harvesting of kharif crops such as paddy and crop diversification. It is a matter of relief that the area of ​​oilseeds, including mustard and rapeseed, is 1 lakh hectare over 2022, it will help reduce import bills of the country’s edible oils. Senior officials believe that the emphasis on oilseeds reflects strategic measures to increase self -sufficiency. While challenges remain due to meteorological obstacles. The positive attitude of the possible reversal of the Ministry of Agriculture is based on the flexibility of the agricultural sector. To achieve strong food production in the coming season, it would be important to balance crop diversification and remove moisture deficiency. Earlier this year, Agriculture and Farmers Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Lok Sabha: “Since 2014, 1.888 climate seed has been developed for crops. In addition, 68 places have been developed and showed that they should take widely between farming data in extreme weather and regions, such as drought, flood, ripening and summer wave.” India is the second largest producer of wheat, rice and sugar in the world, but has been forced to prohibit the export of these items from limiting rising domestic prices. The country is the largest rice exporter in the world and ensures food security in countries in Asia, Africa and Middle East. Therefore, the ban on export also affected the availability of food in these countries. India’s agriculture exports this year are expected to decline from $ 4 billion to $ 5 billion. However, senior government officials are optimistic. Rajesh Aggarwal, additional secretary in the Ministry of Trade, believes that the increase in the export of other agricultural goods will be completed this year. Aggarwal told reporters: “If we remove agricultural products such as wheat and rice, of which exports are controlled, other food exports grow by more than four percent.” “Despite a decline of about $ 4 billion to $ 5 billion due to the ban on sugar, wheat and rice, we should be able to reach last year’s export level,” he said. Data from agriculture and processed food products Export Development Authority (Apeda) showed that between April and November this year there was an increase in meat and dairy, grain preparations and fruit and vegetable exports. On the other hand, according to a report by the Rating Agency ICRA, the first advance of Kharif production indicates that food production has dropped on a four -year low of 148.6 million tonnes, which is 4.6 percent lower than last year’s final estimate. Even crops that have sown an increase this year are expected to see a decrease in their production, including sugarcane (-11.4 percent), rice (-3.8 percent) and coarse grains (-6.5 percent). The ICRA report said: “Especially the decline in the production of most crops is greater than the decline in them, reflecting the contractions in the yield.” Poor rural economy also inspired the rating firm to add a negative risk to an estimate of an increase of 0-2 percent in tractor sales for the year, as the first half fell by 3.7 percent in the first half and 0.5 percent during October and November. Unsurable rain also occurred due to climate change, which caused crops damage. This year, approximately 8.68 lakh hectare crop area in the United States will be affected by flooding or heavy rainfall. The monsoon began in late June, followed by more rain in July, followed by a decline in August and then in September, parts of the country like Punjab and Haryana received more rainfall again, it affected the standing crop. This has led to a large increase in vegetables prices, especially tomatoes and onions, has increased inflation. Another important factor affecting the shift of the agricultural sector is the amount of water currently available in the reservoirs of different countries of the country about 80 percent of India’s rainfall is bound during the southwest of the monsoon, which also fills the country’s reservoirs, which are used for irrigation during the next agricultural season. Due to low rainfall this year, it is reported that water storage in the reservoir is about 75 percent of the previous year, which could affect agricultural production in the upcoming Rabi season. -Ians CBT