Context:
Research out of Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar estimates that if about 40% of the area under rice is replaced by other crops that require less water, then between 60 and 100 cubic kilometers of groundwater depleted in northern India since the year 2000 can be recovered.
Relevance:
GS I: Geography
Dimensions of the Article:
- Highlights
- What are the Difficulties Encountered in Practicing Sustainable Agriculture in India?
Highlights:
- Today’s agriculture especially growing of rice has a high dependency on ground water as source of irrigation.
- Continuous rise of temperatures globally will expound the existing ground water depletion- estimated to be about between 13 to 43 cubic km of water loss.
- Continued sequence of these and similar types of cropping systems will place severe strain on the already tapped and overexploited resources of groundwater which will worsen the issue of water security further.
- Because of the obesity the agriculture practice causes to the depletion of ground water, overhauling methods of farming is potent and all stakeholders should heed to the call.
Effect of Climate Change:
- Considering IPCC scenarios whereby the global average atmospheric temperature is expected to rise by 1.5 to 3 degrees Celsius the regions of Tropics are likely to maintain the current land use practices cropping patterns resulting in an increased degree of groundwater deficit recovery loss in the estimates of
- The 2018 report on Global Warming of 1.5°C from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected that within the year 2050 to 2030, there will be a likelihood of temperature increase of 1.5°C due to global warming as more factors will have contributed to the warming with a possibility of reaching 3°C warming by 2100.
Observations:
- The report points out that there is an immediate need to modify cropping systems in particular Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, so that the aquifers are not depleted, while the farmers’ profit is not adversely affected.
- It recommends rice cultivation in Uttar Pradesh, oilseed in West Bengal while suggesting rice intercrops in both the states.
- These recommendations are critical in policy context as they present suitable cropping systems in terms of groundwater preservation that also considers the farmers’ income in irrigated areas of north India.
What are the Difficulties Encountered in Practicing Sustainable Agriculture in India?
- The agricultural sector’s excessive focus on water consuming crops and ineffective irrigation practices has led to depletion of groundwater reserves and scarcity of water.
- Climate change challenges such as erratic rainfall, increasing temperatures and the prevalence of extreme climatic conditions such as floods and droughts decrease crop productivity and pose risks to agricultural sustainability.
- The presence of small and scattered farms inhibits the adoption of sustainable agriculture, mechanization, and the efficient use of resources.
- Environmental concerns and the negative impact on agricultural productivity in the long run have arisen from the widespread use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which has increased water and soil pollution.
- The lack of adequate government policies and support mechanisms promoting the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices provides a major setback for ecological undertakings in agriculture.
-Source: Economic Times
