Lok Sabha Question No. 128 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-09
Subject: Climate Resilient Technologies in Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Tatkare Sunil Dattatrey

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 128

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 09 TH  DECEMBER, 2025

## CLIMATE RESILIENT TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE

*128. SHRI TATKARE SUNIL DATTATREY:

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

- (a) the steps taken by the Government to address climate vulnerability to various aspects of agriculture,  such  as  vulnerable  crops  and  areas,  monitoring  weather  fluctuations, stakeholder meetings, etc.
- (b) the details of Climate-resilient technologies being developed to help those engaged in agriculture to deal with climate change and adverse weather events;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to enhance farm mechanisation, particularly for small and marginal farmers, and especially in rural and tribal areas;
- (d) the role of KVKs in initiatives like research, outreach to farmers, mechanisation, etc.; and
- (e) the details of any findings with regard to the State of Maharashtra in connection with adoption of new technology, climate and weather resilience or farm mechanisation?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी (SHRI SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN)

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

## STATEMENT IN  RESPECT  OF  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.  128  DUE  FOR  ANSWER  ON  09 TH   DECEMBER,  2025  REGARDING 'CLIMATE RESILIENT TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE'

(a) to (b): Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  is  implementing  a  projectNational  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA)  that  studies  the  impact  of climate change on agriculture and conducts district level risk & vulnerability assessment due to climate change. Under the project, risk and vulnerability assessment to climate change has been carried out for 651 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 the resilience and adaptive capacity of farmers to climate variability, locationspecific climate resilient technologies such as system of rice intensification, aerobic rice, direct seeding of rice, zero till wheat sowing, cultivation of climate resilient varieties tolerant to  extreme  weather  conditions  such  as  drought  and  heat;  in-situ  incorporation  of  rice residues  etc.  have  been  demonstrated  under  the  project  through  KVKs  in  151  districts covering 448 Climate Resilient Villages.  Capacity building for establishing village level seed banks and community nurseries is undertaken under NICRA to enable availability of seed in the adopted villages. 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.

Under NICRA, technical assistance for small and marginal farmers is extended to additional  vulnerable  districts  beyond  the  151  currently  covered  districts,  to  promote adoption of climate-resilient practices. Village level institutions through farmers' participatory approach, such as Village Climate Risk Management Committees, seed and fodder banks have been established for smooth functioning and need based technology penetration. The project is contributing to farmers' capacity building and improved crop yields, thereby leading to the socio-economic development.

Several  schemes  have  been  initiated  under  National  Mission  for  Sustainable Agriculture  (NMSA),  to  promote  sustainable  agriculture  practices.  Per  Drop  More  Crop (PDMC) scheme increases water use efficiency at the farm level through micro irrigation technologies  i.e.  drip  and  sprinkler  irrigation.  Rainfed  Area  Development  focuses  on Integrated Farming System for enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic  variability.  The  Soil  Health  &  Fertility  scheme  promotes  integrated  nutrient management  through judicious use of chemical fertilizers. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, Agroforestry & National Bamboo Mission also promote climate resilience in  agriculture.  Further,  Pradhan  Mantri Fasal Bima  Yojana  along  with  weather index based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme provide a comprehensive insurance cover against crop failure by providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen natural calamities. ICAR has released 2900 varieties during last 10 years (2014-2024) of which 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses.

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.  Also,  farmers  access weather information including alerts and related agromet advisories specific to their districts through the mobile App viz., 'Meghdoot' launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences which is available in English and 13 regional languages. These weather details are also accessible to farmers through 'Mausam' App of IMD. 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/).

(c):     Government is implementing Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization' (SMAM) across the country including State of Maharashtra.  The objectives of the scheme includes increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where  availability  of  farm  power  is  low.  The  scheme  promotes  'Custom  Hiring  Centers (CHC)' to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small land holding & high cost  of  individual  ownership  of  agricultural  machines.  Under  the  Scheme,  financial assistance @ 40% to 50% of the cost of machines, depending on the categories of farmers is provided for purchase of agricultural machines. Financial assistance @ 40% of the project cost is also provided to rural entrepreneur, Cooperative Societies of Farmers, Registered

Farmers  Societies,  Farmer  Producer  Organizations  (FPOs)  and  Panchayats  for  CHCs. Financial assistance @ 80% of the project cost for the projects up to Rs. 30 lakhs is provided to Cooperative Societies of farmers, Registered Farmer Societies, FPOs, Self Help Groups and Panchayats for setting up of village level Farm Machinery Banks. (d): The Government is operating Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) scheme to promote adoption  of  new  technologies  in  agriculture  and  allied  sectors.  This  includes  Climate Resilient  Technologies through  technology  assessment,  demonstration  and  capacity development  among  the  extension  functionaries  and  farmers.  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 which aims at enhancing resilience in agriculture and making farmers adaptive to climatic vulnerabilities (e): In Maharashtra two districts (Nanded and Beed) were considered as 'very high' and 11  districts  (Nandurbar,  Akola,  Washim,  Wardha,  Chandrapur,  Hingoli,  Parbhani,  Jalna, Ahmednagar, Latur, and Osmanabad ) fall under 'high' risk category. Among these, NICRA is operational on a pilot scale in 6 districts (Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalna, Latur, Nandurbar and Osmanabad). Demonstration of location-specific climate resilient technologies and capacity building programs were conducted for farmers in NICRA villages. Some of the promising technologies demonstrated to the farmers of Maharashtra include desilting of community ponds and check dams; Jalkunds, conservation/dead furrows and trench cum bunding in soybean, pearl millet and cotton, micro-irrigation in cotton and chickpea, mulching in fruits and  vegetables,  short  duration  soybean  and  chickpea  varieties,  intercropping  systems, backyard poultry and breed upgradation in goat.

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