Adapting Smallholder Agriculture to Climate Change
Abstract
Agriculture and climate change are mutually impacted. The worst affected are the small and marginal farmers who constitute more than 70 per cent of the farming community in India. Extreme weather events like increased frequency of heatwaves and cold spells, droughts and floods in the last decade have become common. In India agriculture contributes about 28 per cent of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; about 78 per cent of methane and nitrous oxide emissions are estimated to be due to the current agricultural practices. Sustainable agriculture approaches are now acknowledged for the wide range of ecological and economic benefits that accrue to the practitioners as well as consumers of agricultural products. These approaches, based on low external inputs, are also less energy?intensive and less polluting and so mitigate and help in adapting to climate change. Combined with coordinated action by groups or communities at the local level, and supportive external institutions working in partnership with farmers, sustainable agriculture will help to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Citation
Ramanjaneyulu, G.V. (2012) Adapting Smallholder Agriculture to Climate Change. IDS Bulletin 43: 113-121DOI
10.1111/j.1759-5436.2012.00353.xIs part of series
IDS Bulletin Vol. 43 Nos.Rights holder
© 2012 The Author. IDS Bulletin © 2012 Institute of Development StudiesCollections
- Volume 43. Issue s1 [17]