Climate-resilient farming: How farmers are adapting to erratic weather
Climate change is no longer a subject. It has become a serious concern in every aspect. In this article, we are going to discuss how climate change is affecting the farming sector. The constant change in the monsoons, frequent heatwaves, decline in soil health, and rising air pollution have now become serious concerns for farming, which, making it tough. With the demand for food, the real challenge comes in growing a healthy crop, and most importantly, it matters to grow it sustainably. This is the sector where climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) becomes central to India’s food security debate.
What does climate-resilient farming mean?
Climate-resilient agriculture or climate-resilient farming is known to be farming systems that help in absorbing climate change, adapt to long-term environmental changes, and continue to produce stable yields. The farmers do not have to rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as CRA helps in combining biotechnology with complementary tools that helps in working with natural processes.
In the climate resilient farming, bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides are present to strengthen the soil biology, soil-microbiome analyses in guiding nutrient management, and crop varieties bred or genome-edited to tolerate drought, heat, salinity, and pest pressure.
CRA also works with artificial intelligence and data-driven analytics that helps integrating weather, soil, and crop data to generate location-specific advisories to farmers.
Climate-resilient farming works on practical, science-backed strategies that help in strengthening farms. There are several practices that helps crops and livestock withstand climate shocks while maintaining soil health and reducing emissions. Some of the key aspects are:
Crop diversification: When a farmer grows more than one crop, it helps to reduce the risk. With climate change, if one crop fails due to drought or pests, other crops may survive, helping steady income and food supply.
Conservation Tillage: The practice of lowering soil disturbance helps in locking up the moisture and prevents erosion, keeping the fields more resilient to dry spells or heavy rains.
Cover Cropping: Legumes are the best crop for protecting soil from erosion, it improves fertility and retain water, supporting the crops during extreme weather.
Agroforestry: Integrating trees with crops or livestock helps in providing shade, reducing wind damages and sequestering carbon, balancing an ecosystem.
Improved Water Management: Drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting is the most reliable technique that helps in keeping the crop to get enough water, even in drought- prone areas.
These are some of the practices that help the farmers to curb climate challenges along with boosting productivity and sustainability. It helps in empowering farmers to work with nature, and not against it.
Farmers who face an uncertain future as a result of climate change stand to gain the most from climate-resilient farming. Crop diversification is a technique used by farmers to cooperate with technology, and they feel that it provides stability and hope. We can create a food system that is resilient to climate change by focusing on soil health, water management, and farmer education.