For most of the poor farmers in the country, agriculture is only a means of subsistence and due to formal education, farmers have very little adaptability to climate change. For the rapid transmission of this technology, farmers have to coordinate their social, economic, and institutional efforts in their own environment.
The last few decades have seen significant changes in the proportion of various gases in the Earth's atmosphere due to the various gases from the earth's power plants, industries, and agriculture mixing into the Earth's atmosphere, rampant deforestation as well as rapid changes in land use and management. Due to these various man-made activities, the levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, known as gases, are increasing day by day. These green gases trap long-wavelength solar radiation emitted from the Earth into the atmosphere. Due to which the temperature of the earth's atmosphere gradually increases. By the end of the twentieth-century global temperatures have risen by 0.4-0.7 ° C due to increasing green gases. Has increased. The rate of increase in temperature per decade in the last 50 years is 0.13 ° C. Found. In addition, the last 15 years have seen an increase in rates even higher. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by the end of the 21st century One estimate is that the Earth's temperature will increase. Rising global temperatures have led to various changes related to climate, such as rainfall, soil moisture, and sea level, both locally and globally. The amount of snow on the mountains has been reduced. So integrated adaptation and reduced greenhouse gas emissions are the only options to save our agriculture from this natural and man-made disaster.
Greenhouse gas emissions :
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbon are the main green gases in the atmosphere, the details of which are given here.
(1) Carbon dioxide :
Carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth's atmosphere are mainly due to the erosion of organic matter, deforestation, volcanic activity, combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and changes in land use. Agriculture also emits carbon dioxide but does not contribute much to total greenhouse gases. Soil is of particular importance in the emission of carbon dioxide from the Earth due to its composition, temperature, humidity, acidity index, and available carbon and nitrogen. Cultivated land emits more carbon dioxide than uncultivated land. Most of the carbon dioxide gas is absorbed in various reactions of plants, oceans, and the atmosphere.
(2) Methane :
Methane gas is much more efficient at absorbing heat than carbon dioxide. These gases are mainly released into the atmosphere by persistent wetlands, organic matter, weeds, natural gases and oil drilling, combustion of biofuels, paddy cultivation, and livestock. The primary source of methane gas from agriculture is paddy cultivation, the digestive system of livestock, and the storage and transportation of fertilizers.
(3) Nitrous oxide :
Nitrous oxide is much more effective than green gas carbon dioxide. Forests, grasslands, oceans, land, nitrogenous fertilizers, biofuels, and fossil fuels are the main sources of nitrous oxide. Excessive emission of this gas from the soil reduces the amount of nitrogen in the soil and thus reduces nitrogen consumption efficiency.
Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture :
Global climate change, directly and indirectly, affects a variety of agricultural crops, land, livestock, and pests. Due to the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, the growth and development of C3 type photosynthesis crops will be more. As the temperature in the atmosphere increases, the yield of various crops will decrease. The respiratory rate of crops will increase. The economic production of crops will see changes in photosynthesis, pests' survival and population rates, soil nutrient depletion rates, reduced fertilizer efficiency rates, and increasing transpiration. At the same time, the socio-economic environment, government policies, procurement prices and returns, infrastructure, land reform, and national and international trade are also very important for the procurement of food.
Potential effects of climate change on agriculture :
(a) Agricultural crops :
- Due to the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from the Earth's atmosphere, crops such as wheat and paddy, which are C-type photosynthesis, will see higher growth and lower water emissions. Wheat, however, will see a reduction in the germination period. Shortness of breath will increase and there will be a shortage of water as the rainfall decreases.
- Extraordinary weather events such as floods, droughts, cyclonic storms, and extremely hot winds will reduce agricultural productivity.
- Changing rainfall patterns in dry farming areas will increase crop yields as water scarcity increases.
- In northern India, damage to rye and vegetable crops due to cold winds and frost effects will be reduced due to global warming.
- Fruits will see a decline in the quality of vegetables, tea, coffee, aromatic and medicinal crops. Advanced pathogens and carriers will be seen due to changes in crop diseases and pests and the rapid spread of pathogens.
- Decreased rainfall, rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and the frequency and severity of droughts, hurricanes, and floods will cause major damage to biodiversity.
(b) Water :
- Demand for irrigation will increase as the temperature and rate of evaporation increase which will increase the depth of groundwater.
- The melting of snow on the Himalayas will increase water revenue in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and its tributaries in the short run but will reduce water availability in the long run.
- Significant soil erosion will occur during the wet monsoon season. If this erosion is not stopped, the risk of flooding will increase.
(c) Land :
- Organic matter which is very low in the soil of India will decrease and its quality will also decrease.
- As the soil temperature increases, nitrogen mineralization will increase but its availability will decrease due to volatilization and denitrification.
- The pattern of rain and wind will change.
- Rising sea levels will make these lands unusable for agriculture due to saline water in the riparian zone.
(d) Livestock :
- Climate change will affect fodder production and its nutritional security. Lignification of fodder tissues due to rising temperature will reduce its digestive capacity. Lack of water will lead to a shortage of food and fodder for livestock.
- Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during cold and wet years due to the population of carriers and their expansion.
- Rising global temperatures will pose a major challenge to the expected milk supply as water, livestock housing, and energy consumption increase.
- Heat stress in dairy cattle will affect fertility due to global warming.
(e) Fisheries :
- Rising river and ocean temperatures will have an adverse effect on fish reproduction, migration, and production.
- Rising temperatures and hurricanes will adversely affect marine fish access, production, and sales systems.
- Corals will be seen bleaching due to the high temperature of ocean water.
(f) Decline in crop production :
Crop yields decline as the average temperature rises by a few degrees. A change in night temperature is more meaningful than daytime temperature. The night temperature in the paddy crop is 32 C to 1 C. If it increases, the production decreases by 10%. Due to climate change in the Punjab region, if there is no change in all the weather factors except temperature, the temperature will rise by 1, 2, and 3 C. If this happens, it indicates a decline of 5.4per cent, 7.4 percent, and 25.1 percent, respectively.
(4) Water scarcity :
Rising temperatures will increase the need for water for irrigation and evaporation. Due to water scarcity in India, paddy production will see a net decline of 20%.
The timely onset of monsoon rains, drought, floods, and hurricane irregularity :
The western, north-western, and southern regions of India, which are affected as arid farming areas, depend on the timely onset of agricultural monsoon, the amount of rainfall, and its distribution. Climate scientists and IPCC documents show that the Asian monsoon is likely to change a lot in the near future. Despite the ongoing expansion of irrigation areas, conditions like insufficient and uneven rainfall and drought are a major threat to India's agriculture. Drought will accelerate in the near future due to rising temperatures. Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in the Indian subcontinent.
Increase in sea level :
The South, Southeast, and East Asian regions, which produce about 10 percent of the rice, which provides food to about 300 million people, are in danger of extinction if the sea level rises by one meter. The depletion of sea salt water to arable land and increasing salinity of the land is also a cause for serious concern
Decrease in soil fertility :
Due to the high temperature of the soil, the organic matter in the soil decomposes and important nutrients are destroyed.
Destruction of biodiversity :
Due to various human activities, different species of animals and plants will become extinct at a much faster rate than in the past. From South America to Indonesia, eight species of monkeys have been reported to be on the verge of extinction due to poaching, lack of habitat, and climate change.
Diseases, pests, and weeds in crops:
As the range of diseases, pests, and weeds expand due to various interactions due to global warming, there will be a huge increase in diseases, pests, and weeds due to changes in host growth stage, population growth, migration, and change of seasons. Temperature rise will accelerate the growth of the pest and will continue its life cycle even in winter. The pathology of various pathogens will change. Pathogens will be difficult to predict due to rapidly changing climate and unstable weather.
Strategies for climate change and mitigation of various green gases
- Short-term drainage of water in the middle of the crop season for management of methane gas emitted from paddy fields.
- Use of biogas slurry in paddy field. Preference for high-yielding varieties of paddy in agriculture.
- Proper selection of fodder components for mitigation of methane gas by animals.
- Use nitrotyrosine, neem oil, neem extract, and currant seed extract to control nitrous oxide emitted from soil.
- Ideal regulation of soil moisture and temperature to prevent carbon emissions from the soil and store them in the soil.
- To take appropriate measures for the growth of micro-organisms in the soil.
- Reducing the number of cultivators in the land.
- To press the remains of previous crops into the soil.
- using different moldings.
Various Adaptation Strategies Against Climate Change :
Implementation of various potential strategies is particularly necessary to tackle the challenges of climate change in agriculture.
- In agriculture, sow varieties of crops that can withstand high temperatures, alkaline soils, frequent floods, and droughts.
- To make appropriate changes in crop production strategies.
- Implementing ideal water management.
- Implementing technologies that protect natural resources.
- Precise attention to the weather forecast and crop plan.
- Understand and implement traditional techniques.
- Conduct periodic discussions to inform the general public about climate change and the class involved in agriculture.
- Provide information on what the general public can personally contribute to tackling climate change.