Climate-Resilient Agriculture: India’s Roadmap Need
Why in the news
Erratic rain, heat and soil stress are already hurting Indian farms, and a commentary pressed for a joined-up national plan on climate-resilient agriculture (CRA).
Key facts
- CRA covers systems built to foresee, withstand and adjust to climate shocks, while sustaining output and environmental health.
- Its toolkit has two strands: biotechnology (biofertilisers, biopesticides, soil-microbiome analysis, genome-edited crops tolerant to drought, heat, salinity and pests) and digital/AI tools (analytics on weather, soil and crop data, precision irrigation, pest forecasting, yield prediction, local advisories).
- Rainfed area: nearly 51% of net sown area, yet about 40% of food output.
- NICRA was launched by ICAR in 2011 and covered 448 villages.
- The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture targets rainfed farming, water-use efficiency, soil health and integrated farming systems.
NICRA practices demonstrated
| Practice |
|---|
| SRI (System of Rice Intensification) |
| Aerobic and direct-seeded rice |
| Zero-till wheat sowing |
| Resilient crop varieties |
| In-situ residue management |
Why India needs CRA
- Millions of livelihoods depend on farming.
- Input-heavy conventional methods turn fragile under climate stress.
- Climate volatility endangers food security, farm incomes and rural stability.
Concerns
- Small and marginal farmers adopt slowly because of poor awareness, access and affordability.
- Uneven quality of biofertilisers and biopesticides erodes trust.
- Resilient and genome-edited seeds are rolling out slowly, with differing uptake across States.
- A digital divide limits AI tools; soil degradation and groundwater depletion continue; policy coordination is fragmented.
Way forward
- Adopt one integrated national CRA roadmap under the BioE3 vision, instead of isolated schemes.
- Speed up research on climate-tolerant and genome-edited crops; tighten quality standards for bio-inputs.
- Widen digital infrastructure and advisories; offer incentives, climate insurance and cheap credit during the transition.
Exam angle
- NICRA: launched 2011 by ICAR; 448 villages.
- Policy backing CRA with biotech: BioE3.
- Rainfed share of net sown area: about 51%.