NEFORD's Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change A Farm Level Practical Approach

Not AvailableThe agriculture in eastern U.P. is largely rainfed and characterized by dominance of small and marginal resource-poor farmers who often face the problems of flood, drought and salinity, resulting in low and unstable yields. As per the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the impacts of climate change could be significant for the poor people living in the marginal areas, like that of eastern U.P. Keeping this in view, the present project was sanctioned under the competitive grants of NICRA with the main objectives of understanding the long-term pattern of weather parameters and farmers' perception of climate change and accordingly, to identify and promote technological options adapted to these changes and minimize farmers' losses. The project, therefore, firstly reviewed the long-term (1901-2007) weather data in the project districts and conducted Focus Group Discussions with the farmers and short-listed major problems that needed solution. Beside labor shortage, early drought, flood, salinity and early rise in temperature at the time of grain filling, were found to the main limiting factors. In view of these, large scale participatory technology testing and demonstrations were conducted covering the flood-prone, drought-prone and salt-affected areas in districts Mau, Ghazipur and Azamgarh. Various options were tried and suitable technologies were identified and the impact of such technologies on yields and farmers' income were quantified. Selection of rice and wheat varieties tolerant to various stresses, as identified above, and the safe and productive stress-specific cropping systems have been the major outcomes of this project. Similarly, while direct seeding of rice and zero-till sowing of wheat were promoted as labor-water saving crop establishment methods, an age-old practice of sanda (double transplanting) method of rice cultivation was improved and promoted to overcome the problems, especially arising due to delayed monsoon. Although the method required more number of labor for double transplanting, the increased cost was duly compensated by the fact that it required less quantity of seed, less number of life-saving irrigations, no cost of weed-management and gave higher yields. The average net return in case of sanda method was Rs. 29,000/- per hectare, compared to Rs. 12,000/- per ha for normal transplanting. Significantly, the project also evolved an innovative '5-step transfer of technology model' that ensured accelerated pace of technology transfer by reaching out large number of people-stakeholders, in shortest possible time. During the last two years of project period, NEFORD could sensitize more than 23 thousand farmers in eastern U.P.Not Availabl