Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
promotion of integrated farming systems, and
other measures that encourage resource
conservation
Introducing improved farm machinery for
enabling crops to be grown with minimal
tillage (reduced tillage) or without tillage (no
tillage) resulting in soil carbon gains
Encouraging protected cultivation in areas
which face extreme weather conditions
Low-cost greenhouses, along with micro-
irrigation and fertigation techniques
Promoting new technologies such as SRI
(System of Rice Intensifi cation)
Development of contingency plans for farm-
ing practices to cope with sudden climatic
variability
Introduction of post fl ood agriculture rehabili-
tation measures such as crops like yellow-
fl esh-sweet potato, sunfl ower, fodder, sathi
maize, etc.
Developing mangrove and non-mangrove
bioshields to minimize the impact of coastal
storms and sea-water inundation
and can be implemented in the short term, there
are other emerging areas like recharging of aqui-
fers, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater,
controlled extractions, etc., that would require
collaboration and capacity building for
technology absorption before being put into
sustainable use.
According to the IPCC, by 2020 rainfed crop
yields in some countries will decrease by half.
The impact of climate change on farmers and
their livelihoods could be catastrophic. Several
practical options for adaptation for livelihood sys-
tems to changing climatic conditions exist. All
efforts should therefore be made to refi ne, aug-
ment, and deploy them appropriately and urgently.
The slogan “more crop per drop” is becoming
more appropriate as countries strive to contend
with decreasing water resources. Existing agri-
cultural water management (AWM) technologies,
such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting, have
the potential to double, even quadruple, rainfed
crop yields in many parts of the world.
It is commonly acknowledged that most of the
impacts from climate change will relate to water
(UN-Water
2010
). How water is managed will be
at the center of climate change adaptation strate-
gies. This is particularly true in rural areas and in
the agriculture sector, where water plays a critical
role in crop and animal production (including
fi sh), and the management of ecosystems, includ-
ing forests, rangeland, and cropland.
The most immediate impact of climate change
on water for agriculture will be through the
increased variability of rainfall, higher tempera-
tures, and associated extreme weather events,
such as droughts and fl oods. In the medium to
long term, climate change will affect water
resources and reduce the availability or reliability
of water supplies in many places already subject
to water scarcity.
Water management and the effi cient use of
available water will be of fundamental impor-
tance in building resilient production systems
and improving the management of climate
change-induced risks. The effi cient and equitable
management of water catchments is generally
only possible when done in a landscape context
and combined with farm-level water management
12.3
Water Adaptation
12.3.1 Key Issues
Promoting water-use effi ciency in irrigation
Research and development in the areas of
energy-effi cient water systems
Developing mechanisms for integrated manage-
ment of rainwater, surface, and groundwater
Policy instruments for PPP
Strengthen local institutions in managing
water allocation and utilization
Two-thirds of the cultivated land is rainfed
and suffers from water scarcity. Effective man-
agement of available water, increasing water-use
effi ciency, and establishment of additional sus-
tainable sources of water emerge as the primary
issues that need to be addressed. Strategies under
this dimension would focus on the application of
a range of technologies coupled with demand and
supply-side management solutions to enhance
water-use effi ciency for irrigation. While some
technologies are available for direct application
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