Building climate resilience in Indian Farm households: An analysis of National and State Policies and Initiatives

Abstract

Over the years, the wrath of the nature in the form of adverse changes in the climate is borne by the agriculture sector all over the world, threatening the global food security. Indian agriculture is highly vulnerable to climatic extremes as agriculture forms the mainstay of the rural population. With increasing adverse effects caused by the climatic extremes, India has also embarked on various initiatives towards making its agriculture sector resilient to the vagaries of nature. In this regard, this paper reviews the studies related to climate change and its impact on Indian agriculture followed by the climate resilient agriculture adaptation practices across states as informed by a critical review of studies. The paper then examines the status in the allocation of resources by the national government under the National initiatives on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) across states. It was observed that there is dearth of adequate fi nancial investments amongst states which are highly vulnerable to climate change risks. The resources allocation seems to be mainly concentrated among 6 e 10 states, leaving the rest of the country fund-starved. Also, there is a gap in the funds released under the NICRA and the expenditure made by the states for undertaking various climate resilient agriculture activities in terms of adaptation and mitigation leading to sustainable agriculture development outcomes. The paper brings out the imperatives for proper diffusion of technologies to enhance resilience to climate change in all the vulnerable regions and states. Timely interventions are also called for, by the national and state governments through providing fi nancial support to the farmers in accessing the latest technologies available, to build resilience.