With increasing climate-related threats, farmers gear up for adaptation

With increasing climate-related threats, farmers gear up for adaptation

Subject :Environment

Section : Biodiversity

Context: A 2022 study highlights that farmers are recognising changes in weather patterns and independently adapting to its impact on agriculture. Researchers say that targeted policy intervention will make adaptation meaningful.

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• Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), a leading scientific institute for wheat, released an advisory recommending farmers in India to spray potassium chloride on wheat crops in case of a sudden rise in temperature. This was to avoid heat-induced damage caused by temperatures increasing by as much as 10 degrees above normal in some wheat-growing areas of the country.
• A month later, in the second half of March, IIWBR again released an advisory, but this time it suggested that as light to heavy rains are expected, farmers should keep tabs on the IMD weather update and prevent water logging of the fields. It also advised farmers not to spray chemicals in these climatic conditions.
• These advisories, that came close together but with differing recommendations, reflect the weather uncertainties that farmers face and have to adapt to.

Impact of weather uncertainties on agriculture:

• The government, which earned $2121.5 million in 2021-22 from exporting wheat, banned export in May 2022 after the heatwave affected production. That restriction continues. With the expected effect of El Nino, which may cause drought-like situations, India, one of top wheat producing countries, may now need to import wheat.
• Yield reduction:rainfed rice yields are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080 scenarios while irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios. Climate change is projected to reduce wheat yield by 19.3% in 2050 and 40% in 2080 scenarios towards the end of the century with significant spatial and temporal variations.
• Farm incomes losses: Economic survey underlined the farm income losses of 15% percent to 18% on average, rising to 20-25% for unirrigated areas.

Farmers independently developing climate adaptation methods:

• Even if all the mitigation measures are applied, the impact of climate change will be visible for several decades. In this case, the role of adaptation becomes important. We should combine local adaptation with national and global mitigation initiatives to deal with climate change impact. For adaptation, we need a targeted initiative like training so that it can become more meaningful.
• Mitigation requires a global effort, but adaptation can be done locally. Farmers are trying to cope with the changing weather pattern on their own. Their adaptation strategies vary from region to region. Engaging with the community is necessary to understand what works better.

Difference between adaptation and mitigation:

• Mitigation means making the impacts of climate change less severe by preventing or reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. Mitigation is achieved either by reducing the sources of these gases — e.g. by increasing the share of renewable energies, or establishing a cleaner mobility system — or by enhancing the storage of these gases — e.g. by increasing the size of forests. In short, mitigation is a human intervention that reduces the sources of GHG emissions and/or enhances the sinks.
• Adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. Examples of adaptation measures include large-scale infrastructure changes, such as building defenses to protect against sea-level rise, as well behavioral shifts, such as individuals reducing their food waste. In essence, adaptation can be understood as the process of adjusting to the current and future effects of climate change.

Adaptation initiatives taken at international level

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) runs a program called the Global Environmental Facility, which provides some funding for adaptation to least developed countries and Small Island states.
• Under the GEF umbrella, the GEF Trust Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) operate to carry out the climate change adaptation financing goals of the GEF.
• Another UNFCCC mechanism is The Adaptation Fund which provides funds for projects that prove to have additional benefits for adaptation to climate change. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) set up as part of the Kyoto Protocolis the main source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund.
• The Copenhagen Accord, commits developed countries to goal of sending $100 billion per year to developing countries in assistance for climate change mitigation and adaptation through 2020. This climate change fund is called the Green Climate Fund.