OAR@ICRISATIntegrating Crop Improvement with Resource Management to Alleviate the Effects of Desertification under Climate Change ScenariosC L LGowdaauthorAAshok KumarauthorPJanilaauthorDesertification is one of the major challenges human society facing today and it is exacerbated by climate change, and threatens sustenance of human life on the planet. Desertification refers to the process of fertile land transforming into desert, typically as a result of deforestation, drought or improper/inappropriate agriculture. Desertification is a serious problem for the drylands owing to climate change or anthropological reasons affecting the agricultural production and sustainability of ecologies (Geist, 2005). Drylands occupy approximately 40% of Earth’s land area and are home to more than 2 billion people. It has been estimated that nearly 10–20% of drylands are already degraded, the total area affected by desertification being between 6 and 12 million square kilometers, that about 1–6% of the inhabitants of drylands live in desertified areas, and that a billion people are under threat from further desertification (Johnson et al., 2006; World Bank, 2009). Therefore, it is important to understand the process of desertification, factors contributing to it and interventions needed to combat desertification for enhancing the agricultural productivity and sustaining the environment. Various public and private sector institutions, international and national centers, civil society organizations are working on formulating and implementing programs to combat desertification.Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, EconomicsClimate Change2013Arid Zone Research Association of IndiaArticle

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