Patancheru, India
June 5, 2008
As the world celebrates
Environment Day, science is continuously mobilized to help
mitigate the threats caused by global warming and climate
change.
Along with this, the
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT), headquartered in Patancheru, Hyderabad in
southern India, is intensively working with its partners to
develop science-based strategies that empower vulnerable
communities to cope with climate change in the dry tropics of
the world.
These strategies will help farmers to face the challenges of
climate change on two fronts:
Short to medium-term:
Helping farmers and their support agents to cope better with
current rainfall variability as a prerequisite to adapting
to future climate change.
Medium to longer-term: Adapting dryland crops (sorghum,
millet, groundnut, chickpea and pigeonpea) to grow in a
warmer world.
"Climate variability and change is
an important consideration for ICRISAT given our mandate for the
improvement of rainfed farming systems in the dry tropics of the
developing world," says ICRISAT's Director General William D
Dar.
Satellite data shows that the dry tropics, where rainfed
agriculture provides 60% of the world's food, will be the most
vulnerable to climate change. ICRISAT data shows that increases
in temperature will have a significant (8% to 30%) reduction in
grain yields of dryland crops. Nevertheless, due to their
evolutionary advantage, dryland crops are better adapted than
other major food crops (rice, maize and wheat) to environmental
stresses such as drought.
"ICRISAT believes that the ability of agricultural communities
and agricultural stakeholders must first be enhanced to enable
them to cope better with current climatic variability if they
are to adapt to the predicted future increases in climate
variability," added Dr Dar.
Watershed management has also contributed to improving the
resilience of agricultural incomes despite the high incidence of
drought as evidenced from the drylands of India. This shows that
where rural communities have viable livelihoods, adaptation to
climate change is feasible.
ICRISAT has identified long-term strategies that will result in
crop varieties and cropping systems that are adapted to a
changing environment. An Integrated Genetic and Natural
Resources Management (IGNRM) approach is pursued which considers
factors such as:
* Higher temperature
tolerance
* Increased root stresses due to soil salinity, acidity,
nutrient availability, drought, flooding
* Changed severity and distribution of pests and diseases
* Migration of dryland crops into geographical areas already
marginal for crops currently being grown
Dr Dar confidently affirms,
"ICRISAT is well placed to respond to this challenge with goals
of developing resilient ecosystems and crops. Along with our
partners, we recognize the importance of the issue and firmly
believe that our approach will benefit the livelihoods of
communities who are the most vulnerable to climate change. World
Environment Day is an excellent reminder about our mission in
the dry tropics."
ICRISAT is one of 15 global agricultural research Centers
supported by the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It works with a wide array of
lead organizations dealing with meteorological services and
climate science research worldwide. Research focuses on making
better use of natural resources and developing innovations that
have a high probability of success. |
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