Climate Change's Impact on Farmers: A Growing Concern II IAS

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Context:

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report “The unjust climate” has warned about the negative impacts of climate change on the farming population in India.

Findings of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report “The unjust climate”

Income Loss Due to Climate Stress

Poor households globally lose 5% of their total income in an average year due to heat stress and 4.4% due to floods, which are significantly more than better-off households.

Widening Income Gap

Floods increase the income gap between poor and non-poor households in rural areas by approximately $21 billion annually, while heat stress contributes over $20 billion to this disparity.

Backtrack to poverty

While the poverty rate of India dropped dramatically from 42.5 per cent in 2005/06 to just 8.6 per cent in 2022/24, according to the latest estimates from the India Policy Forum (Desai et al. 2024), a significant portion of the population has been pushed back due to unpredictable life events, particularly extreme weather events driven by climate change.

Long-term Temperature Increases

Long-term temperature rises lead to an increase in poor households' dependency on climate-sensitive agriculture relative to that of non-poor households. A 1° C increase in average long-term temperatures leads to a 53% increase in the farm incomes of poor households and a 33% decrease in their off-farm incomes, relative to non-poor households.

Gendered impact

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), households headed by women in rural areas suffer significantly greater financial losses than those headed by men.

On average, female-headed households lose 8 per cent more of their income due to heat stress and 3 per cent more due to floods compared to male-headed households. This translates to a per capita reduction of USD83 due to heat stress and USD 35 due to floods, totalling USD 37 billion and USD 16 billion respectively across all LMICs.

If the average temperature increases by just 1°C, women would face a 34 percent greater loss in their total incomes compared to men.

Increase in child and unpaid labourers

Extreme temperatures, meanwhile, worsen child labour and increase the unpaid workload for women in poor households.

Maladaptive coping strategies

Extreme weather also compels impoverished rural households to resort to maladaptive coping strategies such as reducing income streams, selling off livestock, and shifting spending away from their farms.

Steps taken by government to safeguard farmers from the impact of climate change

National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA):

The project aims at strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, demonstration of technologies on farmers’ fields and creating awareness among farmers and other stakeholders to minimize the climatic change impacts on agriculture.

In the strategic research, the main thrust areas covered are

(i) identifying the most vulnerable districts/regions,

(ii) evolving crop varieties and management practices for adaptation and mitigation,

(iii) assessing climate change impacts on livestock, fisheries and poultry and identifying adaptation strategies.

Contingency plan for all agriculture districts:

The District Agricultural Contingency Plan (DACP) is a technical document that helps farmers and line departments prepare for and implement measures to manage weather aberrations and extreme climatic events.

The Government of India has developed DACPs for 651 agriculturally important districts in the country. The DACPs cover a range of weather events, including Droughts, Floods, Unseasonal rains, Heat waves, Cold waves, Frost, Hailstorms, and Cyclones.

The DACPs recommend location-specific climate-resilient crops, varieties, and management practices for farmers. The benefits of implementing DACPs include Climate change mitigation, Food production stability, and Nutritional and livelihood security for farming communities.

The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA):

It aims to improve agricultural productivity, sustainability, and climate resilience in India. Its components are:

Rainfed Area Development (RAD)

It has been developed on an area-based approach for the development and conservation of natural resources along with farming systems. It is a combination of various aspects of agriculture such as crops, fishery, livestock, horticulture, forestry and other agro-based activities to act as a source of farmer’s revenue.

On-Farm Water Management (OFWM)

It aims to enhance water use efficiency by promoting technological interventions like drip & sprinkler technologies, efficient water application & distribution systems, secondary storage etc.

Soil Health Management

It aims to promote Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) through the judicious use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with organic manures and biofertilizers for improving soil health and productivity.
It also provides for fertiliser testing facilities to improve soil test-based recommendations to farmers for improving soil fertility.

Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture: Monitoring, Modeling and Networking (CCSAMMN)

- - It aims to create and disseminate knowledge and updated information on climate change.

It supports pilot blocks for spreading rainfed technologies and coordinates with other schemes or missions like MGNREGS, NFSM, RKVY, IWMP, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP), and NMAET.

Per Drop More Crop (PDMC):

It is a component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) which mainly focuses on water use efficiency at the farm level through precision/ Micro Irrigation (Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation).

Promotion of organic farming:

With the aim of assisting farmers to adopt organic farming, improve remunerations and improve climate resilience, the government has initiated various organic farming-related initiatives which include:

Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD):

It aims at the development of models of excellence in organic farming through a mix of traditional wisdom and modern science in value chain mode to ensure long-term soil fertility buildup and resource conservation.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana(PKVY):

it was launched to encourage chemical-free farming. It is implemented in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, during the 12th plan period. It aims to support the development of the entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, and certification.

Policy Recommendations

Addressing these challenges requires targeted interventions to empower various rural populations to engage in climate-adaptive measures.

Anticipatory social protection:

Programs that provide financial support before the advent of extreme weather events can prevent households from resorting to adverse coping mechanisms.

Diversification of income sources:

Investments in skills development and vocational training, along with mentorship programs, diversify their income sources from climate-sensitive work. This would enhance their resilience to climate-induced income shocks.

Case of Skill Development Training in Rajasthan

The Rajasthan Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC) trained over 200,000 individuals from 2015-2020. An evaluation indicated that participants experienced a 30% increase in income and enabled them to reduce reliance on climate-sensitive agriculture.

Gender-reformative approaches:

Discriminatory gender norms that prevent women from participating in non-farm employment should be done away with.

Programs that address these barriers can provide new opportunities for income

diversification, benefiting entire households.

Tackling the impact of climate change should be mainstreamed in efforts to achieve the four best: better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life for all.

Case Study of Self Help Groups

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu: Research by the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) showed that SHGs increased women's income by 60% on average. Women involved in SHGs reported improved decision-making power and participation in non-farm activities, leading to better household resilience.

Similarly the Kudumbashree scheme of Karnataka mobilised over 4.5 million women into 3.5 million NHGs across Kerala. An impact assessment showed that members experienced an average income increase of 30-50%, leading to enhanced economic stability.

Participatory agricultural extension:

Group-based approaches to agricultural experimentation such as group farming, SHGs, etc can help rural farmers adapt to changing climate conditions. These collective methods reduce individual risks and promote shared learning.

Access to adaptive technologies:

The government should provide public investment in promoting climate-resilient agricultural technologies.

Women centricity in policy formulation:

Agricultural policies should focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment considering their vulnerabilities to climate change. An analysis of agricultural policies from 68 low- and middle-income countries done by FAO last year showed that about 80 percent of policies did not consider women and climate change.

Important articles for reference:

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

Precision farming

FAO

National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)

Sources: