BANNER NEWS

It is clearly evident that climate change is seriously affecting the farming community and agriculture production in India. Small holders are the most vulnerable to changing climate and variability and facing both abiotic and biotic risks in production.

Farming communities in Ganjam district of Odisha state have been facing climate risks from variations in rainfall pattern, high temperature and increasing high intensity tropical cyclones. The impacts of such climate risks compounded by the pre-existing vulnerabilities make farming unstable and unviable among smallholders. Eighty percent of the people in the district depend primarily on agriculture and 88% of the farmers are smallholders. Paddy, maize, finger millet, grain legumes, sesame, groundnut and vegetables are the important crops grown in the area.

Building the capacity of men and women farmers on Integrated Farming System (IFS) and promoting its adoption is one of the climate resilient pathways in the RESILIENCE project. In the conventional farming, mono cropping of paddy and vegetables are largely cultivated without much integration to other allied enterprises. Hence farmers have been facing the risk in production due to the increasing climate risks, seasonal flooding and droughts.

Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) have shared the hands-on experiences on building the resilience capacity of men and women farmers in the District level Krushi Odisha Agriculture Exhibition at Ganjam District. The programme was organised by the Department of agriculture, Govt. of Odisha, organised for four days from 15th to 19th March 2021.

The key would be to increase both sustainability and resilience against future climate stresses and extremes through the technological and nature based solutions.

On the World Food Day, 2020, on October 16^th, the RESILIENCE project marks the day highlighting the importance of food and nutrition security and its own contribution to sustainable food systems.

September 2020: The region of Sivasagar in the state of Assam, is a flood-hit area; most farmers here, go for Rabi cultivation after the floods end. The area needs irrigation during the Rabi season although a flood hit area, but it lacks this, making it difficult for farmers during the season. There is a population of around 1000 people and about 250 households who need the irrigation facility.

September 2020: If there is one thing certain about Assam every year, it is the annual flood and the widespread devastation caused by it. This disaster has become an annual calamity and every time lives are lost, millions of people get displaced, villages, crops, and infrastructures get destroyed.

May 28, 2020: During the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, farmers moved to using ICT as a method to obtain useful information about issues related to farming. While phones provide information on various topics, there are areas where farmers need expert guidance. Considering the value of accurate information for farmers, MSSRF held a series of ICT-based programs on key issues including pest / disease infestation, market and weather.

The biotic and abiotic risk in farming is quite high in the study areas of both Assam (Sibsagar and Golaghat district ) and Odisha