AGRICULTURE HAS become one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change. India is no exception. Any negative variation affects the country’s food and nutrition security, especially for the poor. A large segment of our cultivators are small and marginal farmers who have a low level of literacy, large families, poor financial stability, inadequate technical guidance and less scope for credit and financial support. They are also affected by the unpredictable and varying rainfall, degenerating soil quality, drought, reluctance to switch over to alternative crops, high dependence on informal sources of finance, poor storage facilities and a very low bargaining capacity. Therefore, it is not easy for farmers to easily adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.
Since climate change impacts are felt at multiple levels, the response also needs to be made at multiple levels—with strategic interventions at each level. A crucial intervention is related to water budgeting, which is the process of judiciously rationing water for humans, livestock, agriculture and industries in the context of climate change and water scarcity. It ensures optimum and efficient use of water.
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GREEN IS THE NEW ORANGE
THERE IS MORE TO CARROTS THAN THEIR COLOURFUL ROOTS
‘Artists world over should raise alarm'
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE NOT JUST DRYING THE EARTH BUT ALSO THE SPIRIT OF HUMANKIND. THIS IS THE MESSAGE DANCER, WRITER AND ACTIVIST MALLIKA SARABHAI AND DIRECTOR YADAVAN CHANDRAN AIM TO DELIVER THROUGH THEIR RECENT DANCE VIDEO, ARID. THE DANCE COMPRISES THREE ACTS ON THE INTENSITY OF THE WATER CRISIS. THEY SPEAK ON THE ROLE OF ART IN TACKLING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH DAKSHIANI PALICHA. EXCERPTS:
Rays of light and hope
An energy start-up aims to provide a sustainable power solution to rural consumers
GOURMET GUR
Destruction of date palm trees during cyclone Amphan and warming weather have resulted in a huge decline in production of West Bengal’s trademark nolen gur
A GOOD FIRST DRAFT
NITI AAYOG’S DRAFT NATIONAL MIGRANT POLICY TAKES A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH AND DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE ACTION AND UNIONS TO HELP MIGRANTS BARGAIN FOR BETTER CONDITIONS. BUT KEY GAPS REMAIN
Carbon Cost Of Internet On The Rise
The environmental impact of digital platforms is becoming glaring by the day.
NEW TARGETS
COVID-19 cases are being reported in large numbers from districts that had so far been mildly hit by the pandemic
THE CHASE AND THE CHANGE
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has shown what it can achieve by putting water conservation at its core
UNTOLD RISKS
India needs a full-time organisation to tackle a host of biological threats
CATTLE WISE
INDIA NEEDS TO LOOK BEYOND GAUSHALAS IF IT WANTS TO CHECK THE NUMBER OF STRAY CATTLE
