Lok Sabha Question No. 2736 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Strategy to Promote Climate Resilient Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Lata Wankhede, Dr. D. Purandeswari, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Atul Garg, Shri Rajesh Verma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS' WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS' WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2736

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 16 th  December, 2025

## STRATEGY TO PROMOTE CLIMATE RESILIENT AGRICULTURE

2736.DR. LATA WANKHEDE: DR. D. PURANDESWARI: SMT. SHAMBHAVI: SHRI ATUL GARG: SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS' WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government has undertaken a comprehensive strategy to promote climate resilient agriculture in view of increasing climate variability and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has evaluated the impact of climate-smart farming practices and whether these techniques have been disseminated through Krishi Vigyan Kendras, agristartups and digital advisory platforms and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has strengthened the Soil Health Card scheme by improving soil  testing  capacity,  expanding  nutrient  advisory  services,  increasing  access  to  biofertilisers  and  promoting  balanced  use  of  chemical  inputs  to  maintain  long-term  soil productivity and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  is  leveraging  satellite  imaging,  drone-based  crop  surveys, automated  weather  stations,  mobile-based  advisories  and  AI-enabled  yield  prediction systems to help farmers make informed decisions and reduce climate-related losses and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  Whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  manner  in  which  these  combined interventions would help stabilise farm incomes and reduce climate vulnerability and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI  RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a) & (b): Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is implementing a project- National Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA),  that  studies  the  impact  of  climate change  on  agriculture.  Under  the  project,  risk  and  vulnerability  assessment  to  climate change has been carried out at district-level for 651 predominantly agricultural districts as per  Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)  protocols.  310  districts  were identified as vulnerable, out of which 109 districts have been categorized as 'very high' and 201  districts  as  'highly'  vulnerable.  For  enhancing  resilience  and  adaptive  capacity  of farmers to climate variability, location-specific climate resilient technologies such as system of rice intensification, aerobic rice, direct seeding of rice, zero till wheat sowing, etc have been demonstrated through KVKs in 448 Climate Resilient Villages.  Capacity building for establishing village level seed banks and community nurseries is being undertaken under NICRA.  Drought  and  flood  tolerant  climate-resilient  varieties  of  rice,  wheat,  soybean, mustard, chickpea, sorghum, gram, and foxtail millet were demonstrated in several NICRA

villages.    Besides,  training  programmes  are  conducted  under  Agricultural  Technology Management Agency (ATMA) on various issues of agricultural practices. To address the impact of climate change, ICAR has released 2900 varieties during last 10 years (20142024). Out of these 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses.

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) promote adoption of new technologies in agriculture and  allied  sectors.  KVKs  act  as  frontline  extension  centres,  bridging  the  gap  between research and practice through hands-on training, tailored to local agro-climatic conditions. 151 KVKs in climatically most vulnerable districts are implementing Technology Demonstration Component of NICRA.

(c): Government has strengthened the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme by enhancing soil testing  capacity,  improving  nutrient  advisory  services,  and  promoting  balanced  use  of chemical  fertilizers  along  with  increased  access  to  bio-fertilisers.  Soil  samples  are processed using standard procedures and analyzed for parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity,  Organic  Carbon,  available  Nitrogen,  Phosphorus,  Potassium,  Sulphur  and micronutrients including Zinc, Copper, Iron, Manganese, and Boron. Diagnostic assessments are carried out periodically to issue SHCs at least once in three years. Since 2014-15, 25.61 crore Soil Health Cards have been generated and distributed. To strengthen soil testing infrastructure, 8,302 Soil Testing Laboratories, including static, mobile, mini, and village-level labs, have been established. In addition, 1,020 school mini soil labs have been established  under  the  School  Soil  Health  Programme.  ₹1,970  crore  has  been  released under the scheme since inception. Further, to promote awareness and adoption of SHCbased recommendations, 93,781 farmers' trainings, 6.80 lakh demonstrations, and 7,425 farmers' melas and campaigns have been organized.

(d)  &  (e):  Government  has  been  leveraging  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  and  IoT-enabled systems to enhance crop productivity, sustainability, and farmer livelihoods. The 'Kisan eMitra'  voice-based  AI  chatbot,  supporting  11  regional  languages,  assists  farmers  with queries  on  PM-KISAN  and  other  programmes,  handling  over  20,000  queries  daily  and having responded to more than 95 lakh queries to date. The National Pest Surveillance System uses AI and Machine Learning to detect pest infestations early, helping farmers reduce climate-induced crop losses; the system is currently used by over 10,000 extension workers and supports 61 crops and more than 400 pests. AI-based analytics using field photographs and satellite imagery are also being deployed for crop-weather matching and monitoring of sowing patterns.

To mitigate the impacts of adverse weather on agriculture, under the Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) scheme, medium-range weather forecasts for the next 5 days at the  district  and  block  levels  are  generated  by  Indian  Meteorological  Department  (IMD). Based on rainfall and other weather parameters along with weather forecasts issued by IMD,  130  Agromet  Field  Units  prepare  Agromet  Advisories  in  English  as  well  as  in  the regional  language  for  dissemination  through  multiple  channels.  The  Panchayat-level weather  forecast  information  is  accessible  through  multiple  digital  platforms,  including: eGramSwaraj (https://egramswaraj.gov.in/), 'Gram Manchitra' Application of  MoPR (https://grammanchitra.gov.in/gm4MVC), 'Meri Panchayat' Mobile App and Mausamgram web portal of IMD (https://mausamgram.imd.gov.in/).

The  Government  has  assessed  that  these  combined  interventions,  ranging  from climate-resilient  agriculture  under  NICRA,  large-scale  dissemination  of  stress-tolerant varieties, strengthened soil health management, technology adoption through KVKs, AI- and IoT-based decision-support systems, weather-based advisories,-collectively help stabilize farm incomes and reduce climate vulnerability by enhancing productivity, adaptive capacity, and risk preparedness of farmers.

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