In India, warming climate pressures scientists to keep developing
tougher seeds
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[October 02, 2024] By
SIBI ARASU
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Unpredictable rains and increasing heat aren't
just making life more difficult for the people of Rayanpet, a village in
India's arid south. They're also taking a toll on the thousands of acres
of rice grown here.
“We used to know when it would rain and for how long and we sowed our
seeds accordingly," said P. Ravinder Reddy, a former soldier who turned
to farming on his family's land 16 years ago. “Now it’s so unpredictable
and many times the seeds don’t sprout either because there’s too much
rain or it’s completely dry.”
Fortunately for Reddy, agricultural research organizations in India have
been working for years to engineer rice seeds that can better withstand
the vagaries of climate. He's been experimenting with the new varieties
for the past five years, and said they're giving better yields with less
water and are more disease-resistant.
"I have planted them across a quarter of my 25-acre field because
there’s still demand for older varieties but I think in a few years, we
will use only these tougher seeds,” Reddy said.
India is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of wheat and
rice. Research organizations here, like their counterparts around the
world, have long worked to produce seeds that increase yields, withstand
drought or resist plant diseases. It's a growing need as a changing
climate leads to more extreme and unpredictable weather.
According to a United Nations report released earlier this year, more
than 700 million people went hungry last year and over a third of the
global population is unable to afford a healthy diet, thus increasing
the urgency for resilient seeds that can produce food reliably. Apart
from India, other programs including a United States government program
and privately funded projects are helping develop climate-resilient
crops in Africa, Central America and other Asian countries.
As India is among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts,
these new seeds are essential in ensuring it produces enough food for
its people as well as for export.
Defending against climate shocks
As climate change intensifies, India’s nearly 120 million farmers — most
with less than 5 acres of land — are seeing their livelihoods threatened
by erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures and increased pest
infestations.
Some are taking to what is called natural farming — techniques like
using natural fertilizers and planting crops alongside trees and other
plants that can protect crops from wind, erosion and some extreme
weather — to deal with climate change. But that can mean reduced yields,
and India’s federal government is also promoting the use of
climate-resilient seeds that don’t compromise yields.
Increasing salinity in groundwater, heavy rainfall over short periods,
prolonged droughts and even increasing nighttime temperatures can affect
rice seeds, experts say.
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P. Ravinder Reddy, a farmer, applies fungicide to peanut seeds
before sowing in Rayanpet village of Telangana state, India,
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
“We really need these seeds to deal
with these multiple issues created by global warming,” said Ashok
Kumar Singh, former director of New Delhi-based Indian Agriculture
Research Institute and a scientist who specializes in plant genetics
and breeding. Singh has overseen the creation of multiple successful
rice varieties to withstand pests and various plant diseases. And
his organization, with funding from the federal agriculture
ministry, has released more than 2,000 climate-resilient seed
varieties in the last decade.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 109
climate-resilient seeds across crops that included cereals, pulses
and oilseeds like peanuts. India’s federal government has announced
plans to ensure at least 25% of land tilled for paddy in the country
will be sowed with climate-resilient seeds in the coming “kharif” or
winter crop season.
“We are breeding for multiple stressors, including heat and disease
resistance,” said Janila Pasupuleti of International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, based in Hyderabad. Pasupuleti
said that this approach not only stabilizes yields but also enhances
the nutritional quality of crops, benefiting both farmers and
consumers.
Logistical issues that need ironing out
Even as scientists are creating climate-resilient seeds regularly,
making sure the seeds reach the maximum number of farmers is
critical.
Ensuring that farmers know about such seeds, can afford them, and
are trained to use them properly is as important as creating the
seeds, said Aditi Mukherji, director for climate change adaptation
and mitigation at the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research and an author of several United Nations
climate reports.
Mukherji noted that India’s green revolution in agriculture, which
took place in the 1960s when agriculture was modernized to ensure
food security and increase yields of food grains such as wheat and
rice across the country, succeeded because such services were
available and well-coordinated by state and federal governments at
that time.
Agriculture scientists also say there's a need for more funding for
research and development — equivalent to at least 1% of the
agricultural gross domestic product, said Singh, the agriculture
scientist.
In Rayanpet village, Reddy is preparing to sow rice seeds for the
winter season in a few weeks, and says he hopes to expand the area
that gets the climate-resilient seeds.
“It’s good to keep trying new seeds as after some time all of them
will have some issue or the other. If the government can also make
sure we get good prices for our crops after harvest, that would help
farmers like us a great deal,” he said.
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