India's Push Towards Climate-Resilient Paddy Cultivation: A Move to Safeguard Food Security

In response to climate change threats, India aims to cover 25% of its kharif paddy area with climate-resilient seeds. With erratic rainfall compromising rice yield, this initiative, endorsed by ICAR, is crucial. Previously successful in wheat cultivation, the approach aims to bolster rice production against climatic uncertainties.

In a significant move to address the escalating challenges of climate change, the Indian government has set an ambitious target to cover 25% of the total kharif paddy area with climate-resilient seeds.

This decision comes amidst increasing instances of erratic rainfall patterns, which pose a grave threat to the nation's rice production.

India, which is the second-largest rice producer globally, cultivates paddy on over 410 lakh hectares during the kharif season. At a recent ICAR event, Director General Himanshu Pathak highlighted the urgency of adopting climate-resilient seeds, revealing that they were sown on 16% of the paddy area in the 2023 kharif season. The goal for the current season is to expand this coverage to 25%.

Research underscores the critical timing of this initiative, with projections indicating a potential reduction of rice yields by up to 31.3% by 2030 under high emissions scenarios.

With India's rice production for 2023-24 estimated at 136.7 million tonnes, efforts to replicate the success of climate-resilient wheat seeds, which contributed to a record output, are now being extended to paddy cultivation.

(With inputs from agencies.)