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Climate Change and development of resilient agriculture

-    Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh

Writer, Author & Social Activist

Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"

These days we are discussing climate and resilient agricultural development. It is a very necessary discussion. But I think we seriously need to know about the pace of Climate Change so that we can make the right strategy for future agriculture.  We would never want to have the same fate as the Maya civilization found in the past. It is believed that the Maya civilization came to an end due to severe drought, while their irrigation system was of a high quality. The reason we remember the Maya civilization is that we are seeing an increasing number of environmental refugees or climate refugees all over the world these days.

I am not a zoologist, I am not an agriculturist, I am not a soilist. But I am an Earthian. It is my duty to do something to save the earth. Basically I am a writer and activist and I want a beautiful healthy society and a safe earth. Both depend on a balanced climate.

Extreme weather, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts are increasingly to blame. Here’s a look at what links flooding and our warming world. Yes! Only one thing and that is climate change. The climate change is warning us in the form of irregularities in temperature and weather. 

I am a historian. So, I always put my one sight on the past and other sight on the future as an earthian. Maya civilization existed on our earth thousands of years ago but due to some reasons this civilization ended. What is the mystery behind the end of the Maya civilization, scientists are trying to unravel it. Recently another research has come out in this regard. It is said that the end of the Maya civilization was due to continuous drought for more than 100 years. For this, the researchers analyzed minerals taken from the famous 'Blue Hole' of Marine Life Belize and the lagoons found around it. They found that there was a severe drought between 800 and 900 AD, which became the main reason for the end of the Maya civilization. According to the report of 'Live Science', there was a severe drought from the 6th century to the 10th century, due to which the Maya civilization was destroyed. We would never want to have the same fate as the Maya civilization. 

India is getting hit by climate change. Due to the change in the nature of rain, many rivers in the Himalayan states have changed their course. Scientists are also agreeing that the weather has started behaving strangely. Several villages in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have been washed away in the last few decades. According to experts, many rivers have changed their course due to climate change. Northeast India receives a lot of rain. According to experts, the nature of rain has changed in the last few decades. Now it is raining heavily and for a long time. Because of this the rivers are getting flooded. Analysis of geological data has shown that some rivers have changed their course up to 300 meters away, while elsewhere they have moved 1.8 kilometers away. According to the Center for Science and Environment based in New Delhi, the rainfall is well distributed throughout the year under normal climatic conditions. But now its nature has changed due to climate change.

If the increasing rate of climate refugees is to be stopped, then first of all we have to stop all those works which are harming the climate. Trees will have to be saved and new trees will have to be planted and that plant will have to be protected honestly. The climate cannot be saved just by taking pictures and promoting it in the media, for this, sincere efforts have to be made, if we also do not want to become a climate refugee.

If we pay attention in favor of agriculture, we will hear the cries of the soil. Yea! If the soil could speak, it would have opposed the injustice being done to it. In the last few decades, we have done a great injustice to that soil. The soil which gives us grains, fruits, flowers, vegetables, we have contaminated it with chemical substances, sometimes by chemical fertilizer, sometimes by chemical and plastic waste and sometimes by drying its moisture. 

The 35 varieties of climate resilient crop include a drought tolerant variety of chickpea, wilt and sterility mosaic resistant pigeon pea, early maturing variety of soybean, disease resistant varieties of rice and bio-fortified varieties of wheat, pearl millet, maize and chickpea. We need more development in agricultural sciences and practices that cope with the impact of climate change. For instance, Conservation Agriculture is considered as one of the adapted measures against climate change. Actually, resilience refers to the ability of an agricultural system to anticipate and prepare for, as well as adapt to, absorb and recover from the impacts of changes in climate and extreme weather. That means we have accepted the serious effects of climate change. But we have enough time to slow down the pace of climate change and secure the future of agriculture. If we cannot slow down the pace of climate change, then we have to learn to farm even in snow and fire, flood and drought. Can we will do it? Think about it!

It is an excerpt from the lecture given by me as invited speaker on the topic of current developments in climate resilient agriculture in the National Symposium, which was organized by Dr HS Gour Central University Sagar and NASI.

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 (25.09.2022)

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