Integrated computer simulation modelling studies done by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to assess the impact of climate change for major crops have revealed that in the absence of adaptation measures, climate change is likely to reduce rainfed rice yields by 20 per cent by 2050 and 47 per cent by 2080, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Irrigated rice yield will likely drop by 3.5 per cent in 2050 and 5 per cent in 2080. Wheat yield may drop by 19.3 per cent in 2050 and 40 per cent in 2080. Kharif maize yield may reduce by 10-19 per cent in 2050, said Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, in a written reply.

The Government, through ICAR network project “National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture”, conducted the integrated computer simulation modelling studies. Elevated carbon dioxide and temperature have negative effects on the nutritional quality of crops, he said.

Preliminary studies indicated that elevated carbon dioxide and temperature caused reduction in iron, zinc and protein content in certain genotypes of maize. In rice, elevated carbon dioxide influenced grain quality such as chalkiness, amylose and protein content, thereby altering grain, mineral and nutrient composition.

In wheat, heat stress cause shrivelled grains, reduced starch and protein content thereby result in lower yield. Excess rains during grain filling stage cause lodging of plants and discolouration of grains, he said.

AI in agri

To a separate question on integrating AI (artificial intelligence) to agriculture, Ramnath Thakur, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, said the Government has employed AI methods to address various challenges in the agricultural sector to aid farmers.

‘Kisan e-Mitra’, an AI-powered chatbot to assist farmers with queries about the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, supports multiple languages and is evolving to assist with other government programmes.

He said National Pest Surveillance System, which is for tackling the loss of produce due to climate change, utilises AI and machine learning to detect crop issues, enabling timely intervention for healthier crops.

AI-based analytics uses field photographs for crop health assessment and crop health monitoring using satellite, weather and soil moisture datasets for rice and wheat crop.

Digital agri mission

To another question on digital agriculture mission, Thakur said the Government has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission on September 2, with an outlay of ₹2,817 crore. The mission seeks to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country for driving innovative farmer-centric digital solutions and making available timely and reliable crop-related information to all the farmers in the country.

He said the mission envisages the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture such as Agristack, Krishi Decision Support System, Comprehensive Soil Fertility and Profile Map and other IT initiatives undertaken by Central government and State governments.

Agristack project is one of the major components of this mission, which consists of three foundational registries or databases in the agriculture sector such as the farmers’ registry, geo-referenced village maps, and the crop sown registry, all created and maintained by the State governments / Union Territories. The Government is providing administrative and technical supports to the all the states for implementation of the mission, he said.

As on December 5, a total of 29,99,306 Farmer IDs were created and Digital Crop Survey has been undertaken in 436 districts in Kharif 2024. Agristack is a federated structure and the ownership of data is with the respective states only. The federated system has been built considering the privacy aspects as per Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, he said.

Cashew byproducts

To a separate question on byproducts of raw cashewnuts, Choudhary said cashewnut shell liquid, testa and shell are obtained as byproducts, while processing of raw cashewnuts.

Cashew Research Centre at Madakkathara in Kerala has developed technology for commercial utilization of cashew apple for preparation of various products such as cashew apple syrup, mixed fruit jam, pickle, ready-to-serve beverages, carbonated drinks, candy and energy bar, he said.

Andaman ban on agro chemicals

To a query on the ban on import of neem coated urea by Andaman and Nicobar administration, Thakur said Andaman and Nicobar administration in a notification dated January 21, 2021, has imposed a uniform ban on the sale / use / entry / storage of all agro-chemicals for agricultural practices in Car Nicobar and Nancowrie group of islands (Kamorta, Katchal. Teressa, Nancowrie and Chowra) with a broad vision to declare the above islands as agro chemical free zone in order to ensure organic agricultural practices in Car Nicobar and Nancowrie group of Islands.

As a substitute of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, the Andaman and Nicobar administration has procured bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizer, seeds and other agricultural inputs.