National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was launched during February 2011 [1] by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The mega project has three major objectives of strategic research, technology demonstrations and capacity building. Assessment of the impact of climate change simultaneous with formulation of adaptive strategies is the prime approach under strategic research across all sectors of agriculture, dairying and fisheries.
Evolving climate resilient agricultural technologies that would increase farm production and productivity vis-à-vis continuous management of natural and manmade resources constitute an integral part of sustaining agriculture in the era of climate change. The four modules of NICRA – natural resource management, improving soil health, crop production and livestock – is aimed making the farmers self-reliant. [2]
The Scheme will be implemented for the remaining two years (2010–11 and 2011–12) of the XI Plan and likely to continue in the XII Plan with the following four components. [3]
Adaptation to climate variability and climate change requires long term strategic research in the area of Natural Resource Management, Crops, Pests and disease dynamics, Livestock, Fisheries & Energy Efficiency. Focused programmes are taken up on different commodities on adaptation and mitigation. The strategic research is being carried out involving 21 Institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research out of which seven are core institutes where state of the art research infrastructure and equipments will be installed for climate change research on irrigated crops, rainfed crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and energy efficiency. ICAR Research Complex-NEH at Shillong is addressing all issues related to North-East.
The seven Core institutes are
Institutes identified for thematic research across crops and agro-climatic zones are ;
The technology demonstration component consists of the following partners:
Under this component, an integrated package of proven technologies would be demonstrated in one village panchayat in each district for adaptation and mitigation of the crop and livestock production systems to climate variability based on the available technologies.
The process of finalizing demonstration consists of the following steps:
The interventions cover the following four modules:
Module I : Natural resources
This module consists of interventions related to in-situ moisture conservation, water harvesting and recycling for supplemental irrigation, improved drainage in flood prone areas, conservation tillage where appropriate, artificial ground water recharge and water saving irrigation methods.
Module II : Crop Production
This module consists of introducing drought/temperature tolerant varieties, advancement of planting dates of rabi crops in areas with terminal heat stress, water saving paddy cultivation methods (SRI, aerobic, direct seeding), frost management in horticulture through fumigation, community nurseries for delayed monsoon, custom hiring centres for timely planting, location specific intercropping systems with high sustainable yield index.
Module III : Livestock and Fisheries
Use of community lands for fodder production during droughts/floods, improved fodder/feed storage methods, preventive vaccination, improved shelters for reducing heat stress in livestock, management of fish ponds/tanks during water scarcity and excess water, etc.
Module IV : Institutional Interventions
This module consist of institutional interventions either by strengthening the existing ones or initiating new ones relating to seed bank, fodder bank, commodity groups, custom hiring centre, collective marketing, introduction of weather index based insurance and climate literacy through a village level weather station.
The Process
The KVK team for each district carried out a detailed exercise on the needs of the village, the climatic vulnerability (drought/floods/heat wave/frost/cyclone) and the available technology options from the concerned Zonal Agricultural Research Stations of the SAU. After a careful study of the gaps, specific interventions from each of the modules were to be selected and an integrated package from all modules was formulated. Majority farmers are to be covered with one or more of the interventions in order to demonstrate a discernible effect. As an outcome of this exercise location specific climate resilient practices and constraints in its adoption would be documented.
Zone wise profile of selected districts and its climatic vulnerabilities
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and subsequent wildfires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour, drying out forests and other vegetation and increasing fuel for wildfires.
The Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) is one of the biggest research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), an autonomous organization working under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of Government of India. CAZRI has the distinction of being one of the first institutes in the world exclusively devoted to arid zone research and development. The institute made a humble beginning in 1952 when Government of India initiated Desert Afforestation Research Station at Jodhpur to carry out research on sand dune stabilization and for establishment of shelter belt plantations to arrest wind erosion. It was reorganized as Desert Afforestation and Soil Conservation Station in 1957 and finally in its present form Central Arid Zone Research Institute in 1959 on recommendation of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) expert, Prof. C.S. Christian of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia. In 1966, the institute was brought under the administrative control of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi.
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Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University (SAU) by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara, Kerala, India. Dr. B. Asok IAS is the Vice-Chancellor (i/c) and Dr. A. Sakeer Husain is the Registrar (i/c)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra Kannur is a front-line agricultural extension center and one of the 700 KVKs financed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It opened on 30 March 2004 on the premises of Pepper Research Station, Panniyoor under Kerala Agricultural University. KVK primarily works to influence the other extension systems of the district, caters to the training needs of the farmers and extension functionaries, and facilitates the spread of technologies tailored to the diverse environment of farmers.
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