Rs 4,000 crore project to help ryots in drought-hit areas

Farmers of drought-affected regions of Marathwada, Vidarbha and vulnerable patches of Purva river waterbeds have become a part of a project partially funded by the World Bank that will help them better deal with challenges posed by climate change.

Called Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture (PoCR), the project has been allotted Rs 4,000 crore in the initial stage.

The project is slated to focus on short and long-term goals in terms of new and improved varieties of crops, livestock breeds and management practices amid the climate change challenges faced by the agricultural sector.

Officials from the agriculture, dairy development, animal husbandry and fisheries departments of the state confirmed that since the past few years, irregular rainfall, extended monsoon gaps, delay in monsoon season and hailstorms have pushed distressed farmers to the edge of suicide.

The experts, focusing on changing weather patterns due to worldwide climate change and in order to build a climate-resilient agricultural sector, hence proposed PoCR as an effective tool to battle the situation.

The Maharashtra government, considering its economic constraints, had approached the World Bank and the international monetary body is slated to finance 70 per cent of the total amount from the initial Rs 4,000 crore allotted for the project.

The government is no win the process of preparing a Project Implementation Plan (PLP), which will be monitored by a Mumbai-based Project Management Unit (PMU). As the project is in planning stage, after the PMU and World Bank officials clear the draft, it will be sent to the ministry for final approval.

“In order to achieve agricultural production, we are focusing on creating resilience of fields and crops to climate change. Since we have already located the vulnerable regions, the results would be more accurate and focused,” said an official from Indian Agricultural Research Institute that will also play a vital role in PoCR considering their national research on similar lines.

Climate change impact on farming In India, significant negative impact has been implied, with medium-term (2010-2039) climate change to reduce yields by 4.5 to 9 per cent, depending on the magnitude and distribution of global warming. Since agriculture makes up roughly 16 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product, a 4.5 to 9 per cent negative impact on production implies the cost of climate change to be roughly up to 1.5 per cent of GDP per year.