Lok Sabha Question No. 199 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-20
Subject: Effects of Climate Change on Crops
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Rattan Lal Kataria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS' WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 199

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  DECEMBER, 2022

## EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CROPS

## *199.  SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether climate change is causing new kinds of diseases which are hugely affecting the health of humans and animals as well as crops;
- (b) whether  the Government is taking any step for continuous research on the said aspects;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government is taking any steps to avoid emergency situations like the heavy loss of crops and animals that occurred due to the attack of locust swarms in many States during the corona period last year; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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OIH

## STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *199 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  DECEMBER, 2022 REGARDING 'EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CROPS'

(a) Yes, certain climate sensitive health issues / diseases have been identified in human beings viz .  air  pollution  related  illness,  climate  change and  disaster  related diseases, heat related illness, vector borne diseases and water borne diseases under the National Action Plan on Climate Change and Human Health (NAPCCHH). The emergence, transmission and establishment of animal diseases are also influenced by climate change. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been studying the impact of diseases and insect-pests under changing climates in various crops and animals.  Climatic conditions influences the outbreakes of some  diseases viz . Lumpy Skin  Disease  (LSD),  Avian  influenza,  African  Swine  Fever  (ASF),  Classical  Swine Fever  (CSF),  Theileriosis, Gastro-intestinal  Parasitism  (GIP)  and  Anthrax  etc. Amongst the field crops, the diseases like alterneria blight in groundnut; blast, sheath rot and blight in rice; dry root rot in chickpea; stem rot in mustard and vegetable; thrips in chillies and white fly in various crops had direct corelation to changes in climate. Similarly the effect of rise in sea surface temperature (SST) and its impact is visible on fish habitat, changes in phenology, trophodynamics, abundance and catch of fish species, as well as distributional shift of fishes and shift in the breeding season.

(b)  and (c): Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified four priority areas  viz.,(a)  Climate  Change  and  Vector  Borne  diseases,  (b)  Aerosols  and Respiratory Diseases, (c) UV-A and UV-B and Corneal Damage and Cataract and (d) Environment and Heart Diseases and has initiated research on those areas.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched a flagship network project to study the impact of climate change on agriculture including crops, livestock, horticulture  and  fisheries,  to  develop  and  promote  climate  resilient  technologies  in agriculture, to address the vulnerable areas of the country and to help the districts and regions prone to extreme weather conditions like droughts, floods, frost, heat waves, etc. to cope with such extremes. Under this programme, the pest dynamics in relation to climate change under field conditions was studied through database development on diseases, insect-pests and weather of crops of importance across 12 agro-climatic zones.

ICAR  has  developed  climate  resilient  varieties  in  different  crops  tolerant  to diseases and insect-pests. Since 2014, a total 1752 climate resilient varieties were developed which include 1352 resistant to diseases and insect-pests. Besides, sixty eight  location-specific  climate  resilient  technologies  have  been  developed  and popularized for wider adoption among  the farming communities. Agricultural contingency  plans  for  650  districts  have  been  prepared.  Based  on  vulnerability assessment, climate resilient technologies are being demonstrated on farmer's fields in  151  clusters  covering  446  villages.  ICAR  has  also  developed  ICT  based  pest surveillance for data accrual; Location specific weather based models (rule based & empirical) to predict the pest status; Digital tools of pest forecasting (web and mobile apps on Pestpredict); Mobile apps on integrated pest management of target crops including insecticide and fungicide calculators and forecast modules.

Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (PPQ&S), Department of Agriculture and Farmers  Welfare through its 36 Central Integrated Pest Management Centres (CIPMCs) across 28 States and 2 UTs conduct various training programmes,  such  as  regular  survey  &  surveillance  of  crop  pests,  Farmers  Field Schools (FFS), 2 and 5 days HRD programmes, IPM Exhibitions, Seed Treatment Campaigns  and  Kisan  Gosthis  to  train  farmers  on  the  Agro-Ecosystem  Analysis (AESA) based decision-making and management of crop pest/ disease; need based, safe and judicious use of chemical pesticides to manage the crop pests and follow the label claims & instructions as approved by the Registration Committee (RC) and the benefits of using bio-control agents and bio-pesticides to manage the crop pests / diseases and advised farmers to use chemical pesticides only as the last resort.

The  NADRES  (National  Animal  Disease  Referral  Expert  System)  provides disease outbreak prediction two month in advance and the prediction models also account for climatic factors. The disease emergence, transmission and establishment were found to be influenced by climate changes. ICAR conduct studies for diseases like Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD),  Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever (ASF), Classical Swine Fever (CSF), Theileriosis, Gastro-intestinal Parasitism (GIP) and Anthrax. In recent  years  ICAR  has  developed  many  vaccines  like  LumpyProVax Ind   for  LSD, Ancovax  for  coronavirus  in  animals,  PPR  Marker  Vaccine  ( peste  des  petits in ruminants) and Plague vaccine for duck.

(d) and (e): Desert Locust (DL) is a trans-boundary migratory pest. It has the ability to fly hundreds of kilometres collectively in swarms. Recent locust attack reported in India during 2019-20 and 2020-21 is an example of large scale locust upsurge after a gap of 26 years. To deal with the problem of locust swarms, Government of India has established Locust Circle Offices, 8 in Rajasthan and 2 in Gujarat, one Locust Warning Organization (LWO) at Jodhpur, one Field Station for Investigation on Locust (FSIL) at Bikaner. Being global transboundary migratory pest, the Department coordinates with  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  (FAO)  and  South  West  Asia  Commission (SWAC) for exchange of information on actual status, movement and control of locust. Forewarning and advisories were issued regularly and management strategies were communicated in advance through different communication modalities to the farmers of affected areas. The chemicals were made available in time and the various modes, which inter alia included helicopters, drones, and different machineries like tractors and pickup vehicles installed with latest spray pumps, were used to spray chemicals.

For different crops, respective ICAR crop-based institutes make surveillance, prediction of diseases and issues advisories for different diseases and insect-pests. Similarly, ICARNational Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease (NIVEDI) and NADRES provides forecasting and forewarning of disease outbreak prediction two month in advance. It takes care of the climatic factors.

There has also been emphasis on development of vaccines  and vaccination of animals for diseases like LSD, CSF, ASF, Bluetongue, Anthrax etc., for protection of animals.

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