Climate Smart Agriculture:Are we Poised to Outsmart Climate Change Impacts?

Despite the spectacular success of the green revolution and achieving self-sufficiency in food production, there are increasing concerns on sustaining the pace of agricultural growth to feed the large population of our country. Lack of yield breakthroughs, deteriorating soil health, groundwater depletion, declining size of operational holdings and labour shortage are some of the prime reasons for slow growth of agriculture. In the recent past, these constraints have been further aggravated by global climate change and climate variability. The impacts of climate change on agriculture are being witnessed globally, but countries such as India are especially vulnerable in view of the high population depending on agriculture, excessive pressure on natural resources and poor coping capabilities.