NABARD’s initiatives on Climate

Change

Dr B R Premi
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD)
Maharashtra Regional Office, Pune
www.nabard.org
 Contents
• About NABARD
• Over view of Indian Agriculture
• Impact of climate on agriculture
• Initiatives of NABARD
• Expectations from the forum
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

Parliament
Act
1982
 Mission Statement
Promote sustainable and equitable
agriculture and rural prosperity
through effective credit support
related services, institutional
development and other innovative
initiatives
 Functions
• Credit Functions
– Refinance to Banks
– Cofinance in association with banks
– Direct Loan to State Government from Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund
– Grant cum credit programme
– Venture Capital Assistance to Dairy and
Poultry
• Regulatory Functions
– Regional Rural Banks
– Cooperative Banks
 Functions
• Promotional Role
– Rural Non Farm Sector
– Farm sector – Water shed development, Natural
Resource Management Programme
– Micro credit and Self Help Groups
– Farmers clubs
– Augmenting Subsidy through Govt of India scheme
• Advisory Services - NABCONS
Indian Agriculture - Strengths
• Varied agro climatic conditions – Tropical,
Subtropical, Temperate & Dry Temperate
• Plenty of sunshine (Short day and Long day)
• Variety of soil types (Sandy soils – Black Cotton)
• Occupies first three ranks in world in number of
agricultural products
• Largest livestock population in World
• Longest coastline in world
Indian Agriculture - Weaknesses
• Fragmented land holdings (>80% in 0.5-2.5 acre)
• Larger dependence on monsoon
• Rainfed farming (45% net cultivated area irrigated;
18.7% in Maharashtra)
• Dependence to Agriculture declining (>80%
population before 1990s to 55% popln in 2007)
• Share of agriculture to GDP declining (36.4% in
1982-83 to 18.5% in 2006-2007
• Share of capital formation in agriculture to GDP
declining (8.6% in 2000 to 5.8% in 2007)
• Low Yield per Ha (1716 kg/ha; 924 kg/ha in
Maharashtra
 Climate Change and Agriculture
• Climate change will have far-reaching
consequences for agriculture
• Crop failure and live stock deaths due to sever
diseases and epidemics.
• The impact already started to occur leading to
huge economic losses undermining food security
• The impact difficult to assess
• Survival of the poor at high risk
• Developing countries most vulnerable
Climate change - Five main factors
• Changes in temperature
• Variation in quantum of precipitation
• Changes in carbon dioxide fertilisation
• Climate variability
• Surface water runoff
 How to overcome?
• Adapting to climate change
– Outside financial help most crucial
– Crop and livestock insurance
– New and innovative irrigation techniques
– R&D on flood, heat and drought resistant crops
– Strong agro metrological data support
• Mitigating climate change through agriculture
– Livestock and crops responsible for CO2 emission
– Agriculture accounts for 15% of global GHG emission
– Agriculture based deforestation, the contribution goes
upto 26-35% of global CHG
 NABARD’s initiatives
• Watershed development programme – more than 2 lakh Ha
treated in Maharashtra itself.
• Wadi development programme originated in Gujarat
• Umbrella Programme on Natural Resource Management
• Farmers’ clubs & self help groups
• Dissemination of weather information through SMS
• Setting up of Bio Carbon Fund
• Farmers’ Technology Transfer Fund
• Rural Innovation Fund and Farm Innovation & Promotion
Fund
• R&D Fund
 Expectations
• Forecasts on monsoon not enough for farmers, but
regular agri advisory services most crucial
• The forecasts skewed towards drought situation,
focus on other parameters need to be given.
• Meteorological agencies to play a crucial role in
crop and livestock insurance
• Farmers’ club network as a channel of information
flow on weather & climate change (38,000 nos) ?
• The Govt. agencies like IMD, IITM, SAUs, KVKs
etc. to have partnership with agencies like
NABARD on the lines of Reuter Market Lite
 Looking forward
• R&D Proposals on adaptation to climate
change
• Partnership with Indian & Global agencies
to strengthen the initiatives
• Guidance from experts on the field on how
to address the issue at the grass root level