Lok Sabha Question No. 2947 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-18
Subject: Mitigating the impact of Extreme Climate
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Amar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2947

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18 TH  MARCH, 2025

## MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF EXTREME CLIMATE

## 2947.   DR. AMAR SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Government is cognizant that droughts, floods, and other weather-related disasters  can  devastate  crops,  disrupt  food  production  and  threaten  the  livelihoods  of farmers nationwide; and
- (b) if so, the details of the initiatives that are proposed to be taken by the Government to enhance farm resilience and mitigate the impacts of these climatic extremes keeping in mind that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, posing significant challenges to the agricultural sector?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a) & (b) : Yes sir. As per the National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM), the primary responsibility for disaster management, including disbursal of relief assistance on ground level, rests with the State Governments concerned. The State Governments undertake relief measures in the wake of natural calamities, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)  already  placed  at  their  disposal,  in  accordance  with  Government  of  India's approved items and norms. The Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments and provides requisite logistics and financial support. Additional financial assistance is provided from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure, in case of disaster of  'severe nature', which  includes an  assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

Further,  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY)  along  with  weather index based  Restructured  Weather  Based  Crop  Insurance  Scheme  (RWBCIS)  provide  a comprehensive  insurance  cover  against  failure  of  the  crop  to  farmers  suffering  crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen natural calamities.

The PMFBY/RWBCIS scheme is being implemented on Area Approach basis and claims are worked out as per designated formula based on the season end yield data submitted by the concerned State Government irrespective of reasons of crop loss/ claims.

Claims  are  required  to  be  paid  within  21  Days  from  calculation  of  claims  on  NCIP irrespective  of  whether  Insurance  Companies have raised  the demand for 2nd  or final tranche  of  premium  subsidy  and  whether  the  verification  and  Quality  Check  has  been completed by Insurance Companies. Failing which, penalty shall be auto calculated and levied as per relevant provisions through NCIP.

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme improves water use efficiency through Micro Irrigation technologies i.e. drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Rainfed Area Development (RAD) scheme focuses on Integrated Farming System (IFS) for enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic variability. Under RAD, crops/ cropping system is integrated with activities like horticulture, livestock, fishery, agro-forestry, apiculture etc. to enable farmers, not only in maximizing farm returns for sustaining livelihood but also to mitigate  the  impacts  of  drought,  flood  or  other  extreme  weather  events.    Mission  for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Agroforestry & National Bamboo Mission also aim to increase climate resilience in agriculture.

The Government has set up National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008, which provide an overarching policy framework for climate action in the country. The NAPCC outlines a national strategy to enable the country to adapt to climate change and enhance  ecological  sustainability.  One  of  the  National  Missions  under  NAPCC  is  the National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture  (NMSA)  which  evolves  and  implements strategies to make agriculture more resilient to the changing climate.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched a flagship network project namely National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). The project conducts studies on the impact of climate change on agriculture including crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries and also develops and promotes climate resilient technologies in agriculture for vulnerable areas of the country. The outputs of the project help the regions to  cope  with  extreme  weather  conditions  like  droughts,  floods,  frost,  heat  waves,  etc. 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  has been carried out at district-level for 651 predominantly agricultural districts as per Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)  protocols.  Out  of  310  districts identified as vulnerable, 109 districts have been categorized as 'very high' and 201 districts as  'highly  vulnerable.  District  Agriculture  Contingency  Plans  (DACPs)  for  these  651 districts  have  also  been  prepared  to  address  weather  aberrations  and  recommending location specific climate resilient crops and varieties and management practices for use by the State Departments of Agriculture. For enhancing the 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  have  been demonstrated in 448 CRVs of 151 climatically vulnerable districts covering 28 states/UTs for adoption by 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.