Climate-resilient agriculture

Climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) is an approach that includes sustainbly using existing natural resources through crop and livestock production systems to achieve long-term higher productivity and farm incomes under climate variabilities.

This practice reduces hunger and poverty in the face of climate change for forthcoming generations. CRA practices can alter the current situation and sustain agricultural production from the local to the global level, especially in a sustainable manner.

Improved access and utilisation of technology, transparent trade regimes, increased use of resources conservation technologies, an increased adaptation of crops and livestock to climatic stress are the outcomes from climate-resilient practices.

Most countries have been facing crises due to disasters and conflicts; food security, however, is adversely affected by inadequate food stocks, basic food price fluctuations, high demand for agro-fuels, and abrupt weather changes.
Strategies and technologies for climate change adaptation

Tolerant crops: Patterns of drought may need various sets of adaptive forms. To reach deficient downpour conditions, early maturing and drought-tolerant cultivars of green gram (BM 2002-1), chickpea and pigeon pea (BDN-708) were brought on selected farmer’s fields in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra (rainfall of 645 millimetres).

This provided 20-25 per cent higher yield than the indigenous cultivars. In the same way, drought-tolerant, early maturing cultivars of pigeon pea (AKT-8811) and sorghum (CSH-14) were introduced in the villages of Amravati district, Maharashtra (rainfall of 877 mm).
Tolerant breeds in livestock and poultry

Local or indigenous breeds have the notion to forage for themselves. In nomadic systems, the animals show their owners when to move in search of new grasslands.

Indigenous breeds have unique characters that are adapted to very specific eco-systems across the world. These unique characters are resistant to droughts, thermoregulation, ability to walk long distances, fertility and mothering instincts, ability to ingest and digest low-quality feed, and resistance to diseases.

These livestock breeds may not be highly productive in terms of meat or milk production, but are highly adaptive to the unpredictable nature and have low resource footprints.

SHRUTI RAMAN PATIL

University/College name : M.P.A.S.C college panvel.