Lok Sabha Question No. 1293 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-30
Subject: Impact of Climate Change on Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Shambhavi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1293

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  JULY 2024

## IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FARMERS

## 1293. SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

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

- (a) whether the Government has recognized the disproportionate impact of climate change on farmers in drought-prone regions;
- (b) if so, the details of the impact assessment conducted on the issue;
- (c) whether the Government has undertaken initiatives to reduce rain dependency of farmers in drought-prone regions;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) details of any initiatives to train village panchayats to create awareness about climate and drought-resilient farming among farmers?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) :  The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India has launched a flagship network project namely National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). The project aims to study the impact of climate change on agriculture including crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries and to develop and promote climate resilient technologies in agriculture which will address vulnerable areas of the country and the outputs of the project help the districts and regions prone to extreme weather conditions like droughts, floods, frost, heat waves, etc. to cope with such extremes. The salient achievements of ICAR are as follows:

-  During  last 10 years  (2014-2024),  a total  of 2593 varieties have  been  released  by ICAR, out of these 2177 varieties have been found tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses.
-  Risk and vulnerability assessment of agriculture to climate change is carried out at district-level for 651 predominantly agricultural districts as per Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocols. A total of 109 districts are categorized as 'very high' and 201 districts as 'highly' vulnerable.

-  District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs) for these 651 districts have been prepared  for  weather  aberrations  like  drought,  floods,  unseasonal  rains  and extreme weather events such as heat wave, cold wave, frost, hailstorm, cyclone etc. and recommending location specific climate resilient crops and varieties and management practices for use by the State departments of agriculture and farmers.
-  Enhancing resilience  and adaptive capacity of farmers to  climate variability, the Concept of 'Climate Resilient Villages' (CRVs) has been initiated under NICRA.
-  Location-specific climate resilient technologies demonstrated in 448 CRVs of 151 climatically vulnerable districts for adoption by the farmers.

ICAR through its NICRA project creates awareness about impact of climate change in agriculture  among  farmers.  Capacity  building  programmes  are  being  conducted  to educate the farmers on various aspects of climate change for wider adoption of climate resilient technologies. The Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Technology is implemented in 448 CRVs across 151 districts of 28 states/UTs. The Government has undertaken  initiatives  to  deal  with  climate  change  through  the  National  Mission  for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The mission aims to evolve and implement strategies to  make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. Awareness/capacity building  of  farmers  is  an  important  part  of  the  NMSA  strategy.   Initially  NMSA  was approved for three major components comprising, Rainfed Area Development (RAD); On-Farm Water Management (OFWM); and Soil Health Management (SHM). Subsequently, new programmes such as Soil Health Card (SHC), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas  Yojana  (PKVY),  Mission  Organic  Value  Chain  Development  in  North  Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), Per Drop More Crop, National Bamboo Mission (NBM) etc. were also included.

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