India's agricultural sector is facing a critical challenge: how to meet the growing food demands of its rapidly expanding population while adapting to the unpredictable and changing climate. But here's where it gets controversial... Some argue that conventional farming methods are not enough to withstand the rising stresses of climate change, with potential yield declines of staple crops like rice by the end of the century. However, there is a solution that could revolutionize India's agriculture: Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA).
CRA is an innovative approach that utilizes biotechnology and complementary technologies to guide farming practices and reduce reliance on chemical inputs. This includes the use of biofertilizers, biopesticides, and soil-microbiome analyses, as well as genome-edited crops that can withstand drought, heat, salinity, and pest pressures. AI-driven analytics can also integrate multiple environmental and agronomic variables to generate locally tailored farming strategies.
So, why is CRA so important for India? Well, India is an agricultural nation with a large and growing population, which puts immense pressure on farm productivity. Around 51% of India's net sown area is rainfed, and this land produces nearly 40% of the country's food, making it especially vulnerable to climate variability. Conventional farming methods alone may not be sufficient to cope with the rising stresses of climate change, and this is where CRA comes in.
India has already taken steps to embrace CRA. In 2011, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched a flagship network project called 'National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture'. This project has demonstrated location-specific climate-resilient technologies in 448 villages, such as the system of rice intensification and aerobic rice. The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture has also been formulated to enhance agricultural productivity, especially in rainfed areas, by focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, and soil health management.
More recently, the BioE3 policy has positioned CRA as a key thematic area for the development of biotechnology-led solutions. India has a strong scientific capacity for CRA, supported by organizations like ICAR, DBT, and IARI, as well as a growing private-sector biotechnology ecosystem. Several technologies relevant to CRA are already commercialized, including biofertilizers, biopesticides, and microbial soil enhancers.
But what are other countries doing to embrace CRA? The U.S. has integrated CRA into federal policy through the USDA Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) initiative, investing billions in climate-smart practices. The EU has also embraced CRA as part of its Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy, aiming to reduce chemical inputs and enhance sustainability. China's CRA strategy focuses on climate-tolerant crop breeding, large-scale water-saving irrigation, and agricultural digitalization. Brazil, meanwhile, leads in tropical climate-resilient crop development, driven by EMBRAPA's biotechnology research.
However, India faces several risks in scaling CRA. Low adoption among small and marginal farmers due to limited access, awareness, and affordability, as well as quality inconsistencies in biofertilizers and biopesticides that undermine trust in biological alternatives, are some of the challenges. The rollout of climate-resilient seeds remains slow, and the digital divide limits the reach of precision agriculture and AI-based decision tools. These challenges are compounded by ongoing soil degradation, water scarcity, and accelerating climate volatility.
So, what's the way forward for India? It requires accelerating the development and deployment of climate-tolerant and genome-edited crops, strengthening quality standards and supply chains for biofertilizers and biopesticides, and providing digital tools and climate advisories to support adoption by small landholders. Financial incentives, climate insurance, and credit access are essential to support farmers during the transition. Above all, India needs a coherent national CRA roadmap under the BioE3 framework, aligning biotechnology, climate adaptation, and policies to deliver resilience at scale.
Shambhavi Naik, chairperson of Takshashila Institution's Health & Life Sciences Policy, emphasizes the importance of a national CRA roadmap, stating that 'India needs a coherent national CRA roadmap under the BioE3 framework, aligning biotechnology, climate adaptation, and policies to deliver resilience at scale.'
And this is the part most people miss... India's agricultural sector is at a critical juncture, and the adoption of CRA could be the key to ensuring food security and environmental sustainability for generations to come. But will India embrace this controversial yet potentially transformative solution? Only time will tell. So, what do you think? Do you agree with the need for CRA in India? Or do you have a different perspective? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
