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Agro-biodiversity as a Resource
The ravages of climate change will be particularly harsh in South Asia and India, posing serious challenges to its agriculture and related livelihoods and to its food and nutrition security. Though the high level of uncertainty about its manifestation makes it difficult to deal with climate change, one of the most effective tools to deal with it is agro-biodiversity. It is important to move away from an exclusive focus on techno-fixes and towards time-tested resources like genetic diversity and indigenous knowledge.
Climate change is upon us. The bad news is that there are winners and losers in the climate change game. The worse news is that South Asia, especially India, is likely to bear the worst brunt of climate change on its agriculture. Agriculture production will be affected by factors like higher temperatures, uncertain and reduced water availability, reduced soil fertility, increased incidences of floods and droughts, and different kinds of pests and diseases. Crops, livestock, and fisheries are all going to be affected by these sudden, unpredictable changes.
With respect to agriculture and food production, those who destroyed the environment and laid the foundation of global warming, the “polluters” in other words, will be its greatest beneficiaries. In a perverse reversal of natural justice, the polluter instead of paying, will get paid. There is a threat that the fertile regions like India and others in South Asia, which are currently three crop zones, will get reduced to one crop zones in many parts. Whereas large tracts of Europe which are essentially one crop zones today, will become two or maybe three crop zones. This is patently unjust, but there it is.
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