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Food production in India is increasingly vulnerable to water scarcity risks, due to the growing demand for food, climate change and competition for scarce natural resources among competing sectors. Agriculture already accounts for more than 90% of the total freshwater withdrawals in India (FAO 2020). However, competing demands for water in the future may reduce the availability of freshwater for agriculture by up to 72% in 2025 and 65%–68% in 2050 (ADB 2013). Thus, there is an urgent need to enhance water resilience and adaptation to climate change to sustain Indian agriculture.

The Resilience Project has been implemented in Ganjam and Cuttack sites in Odisha by OUAT, NRRI, MSSRF, IWMI, and NIBIO, Norway, with funding support from the Norwegian embassy. Many Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies have been successfully demonstrated under this project, and efforts are being made to upscale these successful interventions in other areas with the support of line departments. One of the successful interventions under this project is the use of solar energy.

A team from the Norwegian Embassy included Beate Langest, Counsellor at the Norway Embassy, Dr. Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, NIBIO and Project Coordinator, Katrine Communication Officer at NIBIO, Norway, and Suresh Mathavan, Advisor at the Norwegian Embassy visited the Resilience project site in Ganjam, Odisha On March 29th, 2023. They were accompanied by project partners from Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), and International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The Norwegian Embassy delegation, comprising of Beate Langest, Counsellor, Mr. Suresh Mathavan, Advisor at the Norway Embassy, Dr. Udaya Sekhar Nagothu, Project Coordinator at NIBIO, and Katrine, Communication Officer at NIBIO, visited the Resilience project sites in Cuttack region on their second day of the visit. The project partners, including the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), accompanied with them.

A workshop on the upscaling of interventions from the RESILIENCE project was held on January 24th at ICAR-NRRI Cuttack. Project partners from OUAT, NRRI, MSSRF, IWMI, as well as officials from Seven Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and District Agriculture officers participated. Dr. A. K. Nayak, Director of NRRI, facilitated the workshop. He suggested to identifying technologies, assessing their suitability, determining their cost-benefit ratio, identifying technological barriers and solutions, and possibility of getting support from the state government before deciding the upscaling.

The Norwegian Embassy's delegates, Ms. Marit Strand, Ms. Beate Langset and Mr. Suresh MathevanAdvisor (Environment, Energy & Climate) visited Assam on November 2-4, 2022 to observe the progress of the RESILIENCE project. They met with the Vice-Chancellor and Director of Research at Assam Agriculture University in Jorhat and visited project sites in Golaghat and Sivasagar districts. During their visit, they observed a plant clinic session in Gomariguri village and interacted with farmers to learn about the benefits they have received from the project.

The Kishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Ganjam, Odisha, the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) jointly displayed an exhibition stall at a zonal-level agriculture exhibition organized by the Department of Agriculture in Ganjam, Odisha. The stall demonstrated various Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies that were experimented under the Resilience project funded by the Norwegian Embassy.

His Excellency Ambassador of Norway to India, Royal Norwegian Embassy Mr. Hans Jacob Frydenlund visited to the Resilience project site in Cuttack, Odisha during 27th and 28th November 2022 with his team Ms. Marit Marie Strand, Counsellor – Head of Cooperation Climate, Energy, Health, Higher Education and Mr. Johan Thomas Bjerkem, Second Secretary. They arrived at ICAR-NRRI on 27th November. Dr. A.K.Nayak, NRRI welcomed. The RESILIENCE project partners.

CLIMATE RESILIENCE Initiatives in Assam and Odisha by Many Organizations,

A Documentary on Implementation of Climate Smart Agriculture: Journey to RESILIENCE

A case study of Odisha documented by ICAR-NATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Cuttack

To watch