Climate change and sustainable rain-fed agriculture: challenges and opportunities

Wani, S P and Singh, P and Boomiraj, K and Sahrawat, K L (2009) Climate change and sustainable rain-fed agriculture: challenges and opportunities. Agricultural Situation in India, 66 (5). pp. 221-239.

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Abstract

This paper presents the current status and production potential of rain-fed agricultural and to suggest measures to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on the goal to achieve food security through sustainable increase in agricultural production in rain-fed areas. An insight into the rain-fed regions shows a grim picture of water-scarcity, fragile ecosystem, drought and land degradation due to soil erosion, by wind, water and nutrient mining, low rain water use efficiency (35-45 per cent), high population pressure, poverty, low investments in water use efficiency measures, poor infrastructure and inappropriate policies. Evidence from a long-term study at the ICRISAT center, Patancheru, India, since 1976, demonstrated that through improved land, water and nutrient management in rainfed agriculture, sorghum/pigeonpea intercrop system produced higher mean grain yields compared to the traditional system where the crop is grown on stored soil moisture with the application of 5 FYM once in two years. The annual gain in grain yield in the improved system was 82 kg per year compared to 23 kg per year in traditional system. Unless appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures are taken, it will be difficult to achieve such higher yield to bridge the yield gaps under climate change scenarios with growing water scarcity and increasing degradation of natural resources.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Depositing User:	Library ICRISAT
Date Deposited:	29 Aug 2011 04:25
Last Modified:	29 Aug 2011 04:25
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/323
Official URL:
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Author

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