How nature-based solutions make agriculture more resilient to climate change
Nature-based solutions and climate-resilient agriculture have emerged as sustainable approaches for enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of changing climatic conditions. What are the key initiatives launched by India for promoting climate-resilient agriculture? How do these measures help strengthen climate adaptation, and ensure food and nutritional security? See infographics for key insights.
Nature-based solutions and climate-resilient agriculture have emerged as a sustainable approach to mitigate climate-related risks in agriculture. (File) — Abhinav Rai
As the impact of climate change becomes more pronounced in rising temperatures, erratic monsoons, and frequent extreme weather events, the agricultural system faces a dual challenge. First, it is very sensitive to climatic change impact as it disrupts harvest plans and crop yields. Second, agriculture itself contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, crop residue burning, and deforestation.
To address these challenges, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) have emerged as a sustainable approach that enhances the resilience of agricultural systems and helps ensure food and nutritional security of future generations, and protect soil and environmental health.
India's Push for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Building climate-resilient agriculture
Climate change and associated warming can reduce crop performance (how well a crop grows and produces under specific conditions) by disrupting photosynthesis and altering pest populations, lowering fertiliser use efficiency (FUE), soil fertility, and crop yields.
Higher temperatures and increased concentration of CO₂ can affect plant growth, expand pest ranges and life cycles, reduce plants’ ability to convert nutrients into yields, and worsen soil moisture loss and nutrient imbalance.
Climate-resilient agriculture practices are needed to minimise these climate-related risks. Climate-resilient agriculture refers to farming practices that enable the agricultural system to adapt to changing climatic conditions, reduce vulnerability to climate-induced shocks, and enhance productivity.
These practices focus on adaptation and mitigation measures and include measures like the selection of appropriate crops and climate-adapted varieties, adjustment of sowing window and crop duration, adoption of appropriate planting methods, agroforestry, biochar, efficient use of fertiliser, insecticides, pesticides, and improved water and soil management.
In addition, climate-resilient agriculture also depends on the resilience of social systems – households, communities, and regions – and their ability to utilise available technical knowledge, services provided by the government and organisations.
Moreover, among the various approaches that support climate-resilient agriculture, nature-based solutions have emerged as an important strategy for simultaneously addressing climate adaptation, climate change mitigation, and ecosystem restoration.
Harnessing nature for climate and food security
Nature-based solutions in agriculture encompass a range of sustainable practices. It has three main aims: better adaptation and resilient food production, mitigating climate change, and enhancing nature and biodiversity. Examples of nature-based solutions include practices like regenerative agriculture, conservation agriculture, reduced-tillage or zero tillage practices, agroforestry, biochar and others.
Nature-based solutions are now an important part of emissions reduction plans of at least 102 nations’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that nature-based solutions could deliver 37 per cent of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed to keep global temperature increases under 2°C by 2030.
This makes nature-based solutions an important component of strategies seeking to address the intertwined challenges of climate change and global food security.
Climate change and food security
Estimates suggest that as the global population increases, ensuring food security will require 60 per cent additional food by 2050. Notably, underdeveloped and developing countries and regions are expected to be disproportionately affected by climate change.
For example, the Asia-Pacific is a densely populated and major food-producing region where more than 60 per cent of the population (2.2 billion people) are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. It is estimated that Southeast Asia may lose 50 per cent of its crop production by 2100 if the rise in temperatures continues.
Similarly, maize and wheat yields in southern Europe could be reduced by as much as 49 per cent by 2050, while crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa could fall by 5-17 per cent by 2050.
Therefore, countries are increasingly implementing nature-based solutions and climate-resilient agriculture. Europe is implementing climate-resilient agricultural practices through a combination of policies, including the European Green Deal, the EU adaptation strategy, national adaptation plans and various carbon removal policies.
Similarly, China successfully implemented the Climate-Smart Staple Crops Production Project (CSSCP) with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank between 2014 and 2019.
Vulnerability of Indian agriculture to climate change
The agricultural sector remains central to India’s economy, supporting the livelihoods of about 58 per cent of the population and employing nearly 46.1 per cent of the country’s active workforce. The sector accounts for about 18 per cent of the country’s total Gross Value Added (GVA).
However, Indian agriculture remains vulnerable to climate change due to some structural factors and heavy dependence on weather and climate. The vulnerability is visible in small and fragmented landholdings in agriculture. The average landholding is only 1.08 hectares, with about 89.4 per cent of marginal and small farmers owning less than 2 hectares of farm size.
Furthermore, about 60 percent of India’s agriculture is rainfed (dependent on monsoon rains), contributing 40 per cent of total food production. Agriculture thus remains one of India’s most vulnerable sectors to climate change due to its high dependency on weather events.
A report by the Ministry of Earth Sciences suggests that since the 1950s, India has experienced a rise in average temperatures, a decrease in monsoon precipitation, an increase in extreme temperatures, rainfall events, droughts, sea levels, and intensity of severe cyclones. Amid these changing climatic conditions, biochar is seen as a promising nature-based solution.
Case for biochar as a climate mitigation strategy
According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), ‘Biochar is the charred biomass produced by slow pyrolysis in which organic material (crop residues, wood waste, etc.) is heated under controlled temperatures (300-500 degrees Celsius) without oxygen’.
India generates 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste annually. If treated properly, this biomass can produce nutrient-rich organic fertilisers and generate about 18,000 MW of power annually.
The biochar has high carbon content and can be used in agriculture to increase the fertility and water retention capacity of soil, improve nutrient use efficiency, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Biochar is a more viable and sustainable alternative to treating crop residues than open-field burning. It would help reduce air pollution and air toxicity, including particulate matter emissions. A review by IIT Delhi researchers estimates biochar could sequester an average of 376.11 megatonnes of CO₂-equivalent in Indian soil, potentially cutting 41–63 per cent of emissions from agriculture and allied activities.
Recognising the need to promote such climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural practices, the government has introduced several policy initiatives to strengthen adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector.
India’s policy response to climate-resilient agriculture
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), launched in 2008, offers an overarching framework for India’s climate change policies. Under the NAPCC, the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) was launched in 2014-15 to promote climate-resilient agriculture through improved soil health, efficient water use and adoption of sustainable farming practices.
The mission has initiated several schemes such as Per Drop More Crop, Rainfed Area Development, the Soil Health and Fertility scheme, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, Agroforestry and National Bamboo Mission. India also became the first country to adopt a National Agroforestry Policy in 2014, followed by the launch of the National Mission on Natural Farming in 2024.
In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched a flagship project, namely National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), which is implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Recently, NICRA’s vulnerability assessment of 651 agricultural districts identified 310 districts as vulnerable, with 109 of them classified as ‘very high’ and 201 as ‘highly’ vulnerable districts. Accordingly, the government has prepared District Agriculture Contingency Plans (DACPs) for all 651 agricultural districts.
NICRA projects that by 2050, yields could fall for rainfed rice (20 per cent), wheat (19.3 per cent) and kharif maize (18per cent), whereas soybean yields are projected to increase by 3-10 per cent by 2030. Between 2014 and 2024, the ICAR has released 2,900 crop varieties, and 2,661 of them are tolerant to one or more biotic (including pests and diseases) and abiotic (including water, temperature, humidity, and soil) stresses.
Challenges and way forward
However, translating these policy objectives into effective on-ground adoption of climate-resilient agriculture still remains a challenge. Adoption of improved tools and technology, such as tolerant crop varieties, genome-edited crops, biofertilisers, biopesticides, and water-smart technologies, continues to be constrained by the lack of awareness, limited access to credit and quality inputs and the upfront cost of new technologies.
Such constraints are particularly pronounced among small and marginal farmers, who need financial support and initial hand-holding by the government to improve their skills in agriculture and allied sectors.
Hence, the successful implementation of nature-based solutions and climate-resilient agriculture begins with spreading awareness among stakeholders about the impact of climate change and building confidence in adopting improved agri-technologies.
This requires a collaborative effort among farmers, government, research institutions, and other organisations. These efforts can help ensure food and nutritional security for India’s 1.4 billion people, increase farmers’ incomes, strengthen climate change adaptation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Post read questions
1. Why is India’s agriculture sector particularly vulnerable to climate change? What are the major factors contributing to this vulnerability.
2. What is Climate-Resilient Agriculture? Discuss its significance in ensuring food security under changing climatic conditions.
3. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly being recognised as an effective strategy for climate adaptation and mitigation. Discuss their role in agriculture.
4. Biochar has emerged as a promising nature-based solution for Indian agriculture. Examine its potential and discuss the challenges associated with its large-scale adoption.
5. Discuss the policy framework adopted by India to promote climate-resilient agriculture. How effective have these initiatives been in enhancing agricultural resilience?
(Abhinav Rai is a Doctoral candidate at the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.)
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