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A large part of the arable land in India is rain-fed, the productivity of agriculture depends on the rainfall and its pattern.
♤ Agriculture will be adversely affected not only by an increase or decrease in the overall amounts of rainfall but also by shifts in the timing of the rainfall.
♤ Any change in rainfall patterns poses a serious threat to agriculture, and therefore to the economy and food security.
♤ Summer rainfall accounts for almost 70 per cent of the total annual rainfall over India and is crucial to Indian agriculture.
♤ However, studies predict decline in summer rainfall by the 2050s.
♤ Semi arid regions of western India are expected to receive higher than normal rainfall as temperatures soar, while central India will experience a decrease of between 10 and 20 per cent in winter rainfall by the 2050s.
♤ Relatively small climate changes can cause large water resources problems particularly in arid and semi arid regions such as northwest India.
♤ Productivity of most crops may decrease due to increase in temperature and decrease in water availability, especially in Indo-Gangetic plains.
♤ This apart, there would be a decline in the productivity of rabi as compared to kharif season crops.
♤ Rising temperature would increase fertilizer requirement for the same production targets and result in higher GHG emissions, ammonia volatilization and cost of crop production.
♤ Increased frequencies of droughts, floods, storms and cyclones are likely to increase agricultural production variability.
Do you know?
The sloth bear, also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. They feed on termites, honeybee colonies and fruits