Government still to address climate change impact on food security
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COMMENTS 
Noting that climate change posed a threat to food security, experts and farmers have sought an adequate adaptation policy and budgetary support to ensure agriculture productivity in the country
The Centre has so far not addressed the problem of the impact of climate change on the agriculture and food sectors, a panel of experts participating in a national conference on ‘Ensuring Food Security in a Changing Climate’ observed on April 24, 2010.
While it is estimated that agriculture in the productive areas of South Asia will be amongst the worst affected, with predictions that almost 40% of production potential could be lost, the government is unprepared to meet the problem.
Adapting agriculture to climate change is the key to reducing its impact on agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. For this, the government must extend specific budgetary support to the water, food and agriculture sectors, the conference concluded.
Over 200 people from 22 states took part in the deliberations organised by Gene Campaign and ActionAid India, in New Delhi. The recommendations will be sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for policy interventions.
M S Swaminathan, Abhijit Sen, Som Pal, P K Aggarwal, Suman Sahai, M R Garg, Celia Chalam, Himanshu Kulkarni, Ramesh Rawal, Kirtiman Awasthi and Jayadeva Ranade were some of the experts who participated in the two-day conference.
Sandeep Chachra of ActionAid India pointed out that the present economic development model being followed has contributed to the climate change crisis.
Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, S Ayyappan, who is a fisheries expert, explained how due to an increase in sea surface temperatures, breeding grounds and spawning seasons had changed. As a result, stocks of fresh fish like carp were diminishing.
National Network on Climate Change Research Coordinator P K Aggarwal warned that food production variability would increase with time due to frequent occurrences of floods and drought and, therefore, there was urgent need to work on developing an adaptation strategy.
Suman Sahai of Gene Campaign, which is involved in the conservation of agro-biodiversity, said climate change would cause turbulence in all agriculture production systems. Therefore, the greater the genetic variability in hand, the better the coping capacity of farmers.
M R Garg of the National Dairy Development Board, Anand, spoke of how temperature increases had diminished the reproduction efficiency of dairy animals. However, indigenous breeds of livestock were coping better than cross-bred cattle. Research shows that just balancing the nutrition in feed helps not only reduce methane emissions from cattle, it also increases milk yields.
The conference called for greater budgetary assistance to farmers by providing value-added weather services for the transition to adaptation technologies and maintenance of production through the turbulence of climate change. It suggested that biogas technology be adapted for mitigation of greenhouse gases from biomass, and the development of long-term land use plans to ensure food security.
The government must re-orient its subsidies to benefit farmers who rely on indigenous methods rather than chemical fertilisers, and provide better extension and financial services to small and marginal farmers who will be worst affected by climate change.
Source: The Hindu, April 26, 2010
PTI, April 25, 2010