Climate change has transformed pearl millet cultivation zones in India

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Shift in Bajra (Pearl millet) production zone:

Shifted to 18 districts spread across eastern Rajasthan and Haryana between 1998 and 2017.
Cause: Increase in rainfall triggered by human-induced climate change.

Zonal classification:

India classifies pearl millet cultivation zones based on rainfall patterns and soil types.
- Zone A: Semi-arid regions in north and central India, including southern Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, which receive more than 400 mm of rainfall per year.
- Zone A1: The arid regions of Rajasthan, which receive less than 400 millimeters (mm) of rainfall.
- Zone B: Semi-arid regions with heavy soils in southern India and central western India with over 400 mm of rainfall.

The new research revised ‘A’ into three subzones ‘G’, ‘AE1’ and ‘AE2’.

The study was conducted by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – All India Coordinated Research Project on Pearl Millet (ICAR-AICRP).
Zone ‘G’ covers Gujarat while AE1 covers eastern Rajasthan and Haryana. Zone ‘AE2’ covers 12 districts spread across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
‘AE1’ is now India’s core pearl millet production area with 39 per cent production.
- In AE1 and AE2 zone: Production of Bajra (Pearl millet) increased significantly due to: increased rainfall, technological investments in irrigation, fertilization and new varieties. Pearl Millet price is lowest in AE2 zone.
Climate change is contributing to more rainfall in Zone ‘G’ covering seven districts in Gujarat, thus farmers are switching from pearl millet to cash crops like Cotton or Cluster Beans.
Recommendation: A revision of the Indian pearl millet Total Population Environments (TPE).

ICAR- AICRP on Pearl Millet:

ICAR-All India Coordinated Millet Improvement Project (AICMIP) was established in the year 1965 with its headquarters at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
Later on pearl millet was separated from the rest of the millet crops and the All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project (AICPMIP) was established in 1985 with its headquarters at Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan, the state which occupies nearly half of pearl millet area of the country.
AICPMIP has a network of thirteen centers in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
The AICPMIP centers pursue mandated activities in pearl millet improvement, production and protection.