Climate-resilient crops: Viable solution that needs a stronger push

In response to a question in the Lok Sabha on December 3, 2024, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare detailed the development of climate-resilient crop varieties in the past year.

The institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) focus on the development of high yielding climate-resilient varieties, under the National Agricultural Research System. While these promise agricultural productivity amid an increasingly unpredictable climate, more coordinated distribution will ensure widespread adoption on ground.

Reliable solution

Climate-resilient seeds are expected to be an important part of the effort to tackle the effects of a rapidly changing climate on Indian agriculture. In the last decade, ICAR has released 2,177 crop varieties targeting various abiotic stresses like soil salinity and phosphorus, submergence in flood-prone areas, drought, heat and adaptability to late agricultural rainfed sowing cycles.

Out of these, 524 new varieties / hybrids of field crops and 167 of horticultural crops have been developed since January 2024, the ministry stated. The field crops contain 246 varieties of cereal crops; 24 forage crops and 11 varieties of potential crops like amaranth. 

Out of the cereal crops, the highest varieties are of rice (126), followed by maize (51) and wheat (22).  “The most striking implication is that water available for rice cultivation will significantly decrease in the next decade,” RM Sundaram, director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) stated.

To adapt to these challenges, IIRR Hyderabad has released climate resilient rice varieties like the DRR Dhan 42 and the DRR Dhan 44, which focus on drought resilience.

Moreover, climate-resilient measures like crop management techniques and protection strategies have led to “at least fifty villages mentored by ICAR-IIRR be recognised as climate smart rice cultivating villages”, informed Sundaram. The Economic Survey 2023-24 also predicted a 20 per cent decline in rainfed rice yields by 2050. 

Climate-resilient horticultural varieties like fruits, spices and vegetables will ensure the diversification of crop production, said Sudhakar Pandey, assistant director general, horticultural division, ICAR-Pusa.

Upscaling challenges

The adoption of climate-resilient seeds is shaped by factors such as time taken to develop and multiply seeds, unreliable yields, cost of cultivation and accessibility to farmers. “The new variety released this year [2024] are a result of decades of research and experimentation across plant breeding labs. But the test is how they perform on the ground with farmers,” said Nikhil Goveas, lead advisor — people and nature, Environmental Defense Fund.

Goveas asserted that some of the commercial wheat varieties that farmers across India are using are almost four decades old. As extreme weather events increase climate stresses each passing year, it is difficult to imagine how these varieties can help address climate change.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare estimated about three years for the production and multiplication of climate-resilient seeds that would then reach farmers.

The issue of time is evident from some of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK). The Sasya Shyamala KVK in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal recently demonstrated the use of virat, a short-duration drought-resilient variety of green gram (mung bean) which was released in the year 2016. In the KVK of Hulkoti in Gadag district of Karnataka, 30 farmers adopted TS3R and GRG-811 varieties of red gram this year. These varieties were released in 2010 and 2015 respectively. The KVK of Gwalior is also awaiting the results of their pilot test of a climate-resilient wheat variety.

Another issue is that these seeds often give unreliable yields. Krishendu Ray, subject matter specialist — agronomy, and Swagat Ghosh, head in-charge, Saysa Shyamala KVK explained that their experiment with the virat mung bean had mixed results: The yield was lower than that of local varieties but a faster harvest ensured that farmers could quickly move on to cultivating something else.

Raspinder Singh, a farmer who owns four acres of land in Jagraon, a small town near Ludhiana, Punjab, said that farmers prefer to stay away from such experiments. “Hybrid seeds often lead to confusing results. For example, if long duration and short duration combined hybrids of wheat are cultivated for a few years, they often lead to uneven fields and reduced yields.”

The cost of cultivation can also impede adoption. Singh stated that hybrid seeds have to be repurchased every four years, and prices tend to rise after preliminary offers and low introductory prices die down. In the KVK of Hulkoti, farmers adopting the resilient red gram varieties buy these seeds at an unsubsidised rate of Rs 4,600 per quintal.

Addressing adoption gaps

The development and dissemination of climate-resilient varieties will play a major role in the agri-climate sector in the future. “The biggest issue in the release of climate-resilient varieties is making them accessible to farmers, both in terms of knowledge and affordability,” said Ritu Bharadwaj, principal researcher, climate change, International Institute for Environment and Development.

“Climate-resilient seeds have to be made available through KVKs, kisaan mandis, existing seed banks and networks, and local stores,” she contended.

Moreover, each seed packet must contain a ‘package of practice’ with relevant sowing and irrigation techniques, she added.

More testing, demonstrations and farmer training to validate the impacts of new varieties will be required, Goveas proposed. “When farmers see, and not just once but over multiple years, then they will want to adopt.”

Rana Singh, lead – natural farming initiatives, Shramik Bharti, echoed this sentiment. “Farmers have to be told the utility of these seeds from a climate perspective and not just as high yielding varieties.”

Improving other climate-resilient technologies may enable the better use of these seeds. Natural and organic farming, enhanced agronomic practices, conservation agriculture, improved pest management and more accurate weather forecasting are key focus areas, Pandey noted. “The utilisation of biotechnological tools to develop products with increased resilience is currently underway.”

Finally, ensuring smooth adoption of these seeds requires a more coordinated effort. Strengthened partnerships between the ICAR and farmer producer organisations (FPO), women self help groups, seed banks and private companies will ensure equitable and quick transfer of climate-resilient agricultural technologies among farmers, said Sundaram.

This has been spearheaded by organisations like the Prem Samriddhi Foundation in Boondi, Rajasthan. Its director, Padam Jain, stated that while experiences have differed from crop to crop, ensuring good prices for crops through their FPO has led to easier implementation of climate-resilient seeds.

Opinions expressed by RM Sundaram are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of ICAR / IIRR.