No immediate threat to farm sector from climate change: Experts

Sarbjit Dhaliwal & Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, February 4

There is no immediate threat from climate change to the farm sector, said experts while addressing the 12th Agricultural Science Congress at National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here today.

“There is a no need to get panicky about climate change. There is no immediate threat from it to the farm sector. However, there is a need to be watchful and stay alert,” said T Jayaraman, a senior scientist from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The theme of the congress is “How agriculture can be made sustainable for small farmers.” Apprehending that the rising temperature in the country, especially in agricultural states such as Punjab and Haryana, will affect cultivation, both states have been preparing strategies to deal with it.

Jayaraman said the impact of rising temperature could be seen in Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. The rise in maximum temperature in lower hills of Himachal Pradesh has pushed apple cultivation to the higher reaches of the state. In West Bengal, the breeding season of pond fish has been prolonged as a result of the changed conditions.

“In the past 100 years, the average temperature has gone up by 0.7°C to 1.2°C in various part of the country. Variations in temperature, especially the rise in maximum temperature, were proving more harmful for cultivation,” he said.

Former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Dr RS Paroda said the challenge before scientists was to make the Indian farm sector least dependent on the monsoon. There was a need for developing effective linkages between agricultural researches and farmers.

“We need to involve stakeholders (farmers) in researches to provide them knowledge at lab and field levels. Women can play a vital role in the post harvest management of food grains,” he said.

Dr Paroda said the country should move from the Green Revolution to the nutritional revolution.

Dr KL Chadha, president of the Horticultural Society of India, said there is only 17 per cent area under horticultural crops, but it contributes 35 per cent to agriculture GDP. “There is a tremendous scope for making Punjab a vegetable hub to export the same to the Middle East,” he said.