Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures. Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years And emissions continue to rise. As a result, the Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record. Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways Climate change can affect our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of “climate refugees” is expected to rise.

1. CLIMATE CHANGE
Amrinder Singh
Department of Agriculture
Desh Bhagat University

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Agriculture represents a core part of the Indian
economy and provides food and livelihood
activities to much of the Indian population.
While the magnitude of impact varies greatly by
region, climate change is expected to impact on
agricultural productivity and shifting crop
patterns. The policy implications are wide-
reaching, as changes in agriculture could affect
food security, trade policy, livelihood activities
and water conservation issues, impacting large
portions of the population.

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EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
ON AGRICULTURE
•Climate change may have beneficial as well as
detrimental consequences for agriculture.
•A warming climate and decreasing soil moisture
can also result in increasing need for irrigation.
•Benefits to agriculture might be offset by an
increased likelihood of heat waves, drought,
severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

5. IMPACTS INDIAN AGRICULTURE
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sinha and Swaminathan (1991) – showed that
an increase of 2oC in temperature could
decrease the rice yield by about 0.75 ton/ha in
the high yield areas; and a 0.5oC increase in
winter temperature would reduce wheat yield
by 0.45 ton/ha.

6. •Saseendran et al. (2000) – showed that for
every one degree rise in temperature the
decline in rice yield would be about 6%.
• Aggarwal et al. (2002) – on basis of recent
climate change scenarios estimated impacts
on wheat and other cereal crops.

7. INDIA AND AGRICULTURE
• Population : 1.14 Billion
• GDP from Agriculture : 18.6 % (2005)
• Area under Agriculture :37.8%(124.14
mha)
• Population dependent
on Agriculture
: 66%
• Average farm size : 1 to5 ha

8. •Strong strides made in increasing the production
in the past 50 years, mainly due to adoption of
HYVs and other technological developments
•Subsistence agriculture with small land holdings
•Wide variation in regional productivities
•Majority still depend on rain-fed agriculture
•Frequently affected by extreme weather events
such as droughts and cyclones
•Significant proportion of population still reels
under poverty, mal-nutrition and chronic hunger

9. • The Indian Agricultural Research Institute
(IARI) examined the vulnerability of
agricultural production to climate change, with
the objective of determining differences in
climate change impacts on agriculture by
region and by crop.
• The study found that increases in temperature
(by about 2ºC) reduced potential grain yields
in most places.
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10. BOUNDARY CHANGES FOR PRODUCTIVITY OF
IRRIGATED WHEAT
• Reductions in yields as a result of climate
change are predicted to be more pronounced
for rain fed crops (as opposed to irrigated
crops)and under limited water supply
situations because there are no coping
mechanisms for rainfall variability.
• Climate change is also predicted to lead to
boundary changes in areas suitable for
growing certain crops.

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•According to studies, soybean yields could go
up by as much as 50 per cent if the concentration
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles.
•If this increase in carbon dioxide is accompanied
by an increase in temperature, as expected, then
soybean yields could actually decrease.
EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON
SOYBEAN

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POTENTIAL IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE
ON RICE PRODUCTION IN INDIA
Overall, temperature increases are predicted to
reduce rice yields. An increase of 2-4ºC is
predicted to result in a reduction in yields.
Although additional CO2 can benefit crops, this
effect was nullified by an increase of
temperature.

13. AGRICULTURE CLIMATE CHANGE
• The primary sources of greenhouse gases in
agriculture are the production of nitrogen
based fertilizers; the combustion of fossil fuels
such as coal, gasoline, diesel fuel and natural
gas; and waste management. One of the
biggest problems in industrialized agriculture
is the massive overuse of fertilizers. More than
50 percent of all fertilizer applied to the soil
ends up in the atmosphere or in local
waterways.
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14. • The second biggest direct emitter in
agriculture is animals. When digesting
fodder, animals produce and emit large
amounts of methane; a potent greenhouse
gas.
• Agriculture also has a serious indirect effect
on climate change. Cutting down forests and
other natural cover to provide agricultural
land for grazing, growing animal feed and
other crops, removes key ‘carbon sinks’ –
plants and soils that absorb carbon from the
atmosphere – and increases global warming.

15. SOURCES OF AGRICULTURAL GREENHOUSE
GASES
Source: Greenpeace

16. SOURCES OF DIRECT & INDIRECTAGRICULTURE GREENHOUSE GASES
Source: JESSICA BELLARBY,BENTE FOEREID, ASTLEY HASTINGS AND PETE SMITH FROM
THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

17. AGRICULTURE ROLE IN MITIGATING
CLIMATE CHANGE
There are several adaptation measures that the
agricultural sector can undertake to cope with
future climate change.
These include:
–Changing planting dates;
–Planting different varieties or crop species;
–Development and promotion of alternative crops
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18. –Developing new drought and heat-resistant
varieties;
–Improved crop residue and weed management;
–More use of water harvesting techniques,
–Better pest and disease control for crops;
– Implementing new or improving existing
irrigation systems (Reducing water leakage,
soil moisture conservation - mulching)

19. • Several farming practices and technologies can
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent
climate change by enhancing carbon storage in
soils; preserving existing soil carbon; and
reducing carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide emissions.
• Reducing use of fertilisers: By applying only
the amount of fertiliser that the crop needs,
precisely and at the right time, a tremendous
amount of greenhouse gas releases can be
prevented.
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20. • Protecting the soil: If we continue to treat our
soil like dirt, one of the most precious
resources of humankind is under serious threat.
Industrial agriculture degrades the soil and
leaches it of all its nutrients, resulting in a soil
that has one of the lowest carbon contents. By
increasing the carbon content through a variety
of measures such as cover crops, agricultural
soils can be turned into carbon sinks and can
greatly reduce agriculture’s contribution to
climate change.
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21. • Land restoration and land use changes:
Modifications to grazing practices, such as
implementing rotational grazing and seasonal
use of rangelands. Converting marginal
cropland to trees or grass maximizes carbon
storage.
• Methane should be used: Methane can be used
to fuel a variety of on-farm applications, as
well as to generate electricity.
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22. • Changes in yield of certain crops can
affect imports/exports, depending on the
crop (this is particularly relevant for cash
crops).
• Because impacts vary significantly
according to whether crops are rain fed or
irrigated, water policy will need to consider
the implications for water demand of
agricultural change due to climate change.
WHATARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF
THESE PREDICTIONS?

23. • Water policy: Because impacts vary
significantly according to whether crops are
rain fed or irrigated, water policy will need to
consider the implications for water demand
of agricultural change due to climate change.
• Changes to India's annual monsoon are
expected to result in severe droughts and
intense flooding in parts of India. Scientists
predict that by the end of the century the
country will experience a 3 to 5°C
temperature increase and a 20% rise in all
summer monsoon rainfall.

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CONCLUSION
The climate change will have impact on
agriculture, and agriculture is the livelihood and
most of the Indian population is dependent on it.
The country should set up a National Food
Security Board, to be headed by the Prime
Minister, and establish at least 50 huge modern
storages to build stocks of food grains to counter
any emergency. He finally stressed the adoption
of alternative crops to suit different weather
models, a strategy that may help immensely in
times of poor monsoon.

25. THANK
YOU
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