50k villages in 310 districts: Govt prepares plan for climate-resilient farming

The ministry plans to promote climate-resilient crop varieties in these 50,000 villages, the source said, adding that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed more than 2,000 such varieties for improving food production. These include both abiotic stress-tolerant varieties and biotic stress-tolerant varieties.

While the fineprint is still being hammered out, it is learnt that the framework may include measures such as promoting crops that are less water intensive, conserving water sources in the respective areas and monitoring fertiliser inputs.

The source said that officials will select 50,000 villages from 310 districts that have already been identified as climatically-vulnerable. These 310 districts are spread across 27 states, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for the most districts (48), followed by Rajasthan (27).

“The focus will be on these 310 districts,” the source said. As per the source, the initiative will run for five years and most of its funding will come through convergence with existing schemes.

The Agriculture Ministry also plans to launch a voluntary carbon market project for sustainable agriculture practices.