CLIMATE CHANGE & LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN INDIA : EFFECTS & MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Climate change is one the main hindrances for progress and development of various sectors and has an adverse effect on sustainable development of agriculture-cum-livestock sector-cum-the people whose livelihoods are involved directly or indirectly with it. This obstacle is more pronounced in the developing countries like India where a large section of the population mostly dependent on agriculture-cum-livestock sector. But due to lack of resources, technologies, infrastructure and institutions to cope up with climate risks like droughts, drought-like situations, flash floods, cyclones, heat-waves etc., this section of the peoples are adversely affected. Indian economy is closely tied to its natural resources and climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water and forestry etc., play a major role. Indian people are still dependent on weather and rain for agricultural production in a traditional way. Under agricultural sector, livestock plays a significant role in the livelihood of farmers and also plays an important role in poverty alleviation. It is the key assets for the underprivileged people for providing multiple economy, nutritional confidence, social security and economic insurance during emergency. But, the projected changes in climate is a major threat which may negatively impact on agriculture sector as our agriculture is still dependant on rain precipitation and monsoon as mentioned earlier. Climate change and globalization have threatened the livestock biodiversity and its efficiency. Less precipitation may results in crop failure as well as the livestock fodder, which affects the economy in an indirect way. Similarly, heavy precipitation also causes flash floods resulting in adverse effects on agricultural economy by damaging crops and livestock. The changing of climate will not only affect the production and productivity of agricultural commodities but also have its impact on other allied agricultural sectors like dairy industry, meat production, wool and other animal products in an indirect way.
Human activities such as deforestation, coal mining, and overgrazing etc., are resulted into degradation of nature accelerating the consequences of climate change. More or less, all the livestock species are adversely affected when the temperature and humidity exceed the threshold level of tolerance. Approximately, 20 to 30 per cent of plant and animal species may be expected to be in risk of extinction with increase of 1.5 to 2.5ºC which will result in severe consequences for food security in developing countries like India. Different animal species and breeds have different tolerance levels for temperature and humidity. Temperature higher than 25ºC and relative humidity more than 50% has a harmful effect on animal productivity. About 70% of livestock in India is owned by economically poor farmers and landless labourers. But due to financial limitations and unawareness regarding the latest technologies, such resource-poor livestock farmers don’t posses necessary means of adaptation and mitigation, and animals are most vulnerable to the impacts of adverse climate change and ultimately have detrimental effects on their economy.
The climate change is concerned with the changes of surface and atmospheric temperatures in the upper several hundred metres of the ocean and lead to the rise of sea level along with changes in global levels of carbondioxide, methane, oxides of nitrogen etc., loss of biodiversity, natural habitat and other natural resources. Animals contribute towards climate change through emissions of 18% of total greenhouse gases, emission of 9% carbon dioxide, 37% methane and 65% nitrous oxide. India’s contribution to global carbon dioxide emission is about 4.7%. Hence, the livestock can be considered as contributors as well as victims of the increasing global temperature. The major effects of climate on animal production are like reduction in production of milk, meat, egg, wool and fertility due to impact on normal physiological functions of the body, increasing incidences of various diseases due to increased temperature, reduction in the availability of animal feed components, which is further compounded by reduction in cropping area due to increasing population. As we know climate change has direct effect on air, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, solar radiation etc., and heat is the major constraint in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions and the thermal stress is a major factor negatively affecting production and reproduction of livestock species. Due to heat stress, it causes a chain reaction of physiological, behavioural and anatomical alteration leading to reduction in growth, productive and reproductive functions. Climate change has some potential effects to alter the disease pattern of livestock in terms of frequency and intensity. Some seasonal diseases like Foot and Mouth disease is associated with environmental temperature, humidity, rainfall etc., and hence, climate change can alter its frequency and intensity. The recent outbreak of African Swine Fever among the pig population of Assam which was previously confined to some parts of the world may be due to climate change which creates a suitable environment for the organism. Report of increased incidence of clinical mastitis in dairy animal is due to increased heat stress and increased tick populations due to creation of favourable environmental condition from climate change. Similarly, climate change is the key factor behind the increased number of the insect populations which destroys the agricultural crops and the recent attacks on agricultural crops by the locust migrated from the African continent.
There are different climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be made for sustainable livestock production. Adaptation strategies can improve the livestock productivity to climate change whereas mitigation measures could significantly reduce the impact of climate change in livestock production. Adaptation measures involve modification of production and management system, breeding strategies, science and technology advances and changing farmers’ perception. Changes in mixed crop-livestock system are an important adaptation measures that could improve food security. This type of agriculture system is already in practice in most of the parts of the globe, producing increased amount of the milk, meat and crops such as cereal, rice and sorghum. Practising mixed farming system or integrated farming systems can improve efficiency by producing more food on less lands using fewer resources, such as water and sustainable agricultural-cum-livestock production during any natural calamities or disasters. Moreover, improving feeding practices as an adaptation measure and changes in breeding strategies of livestock can help the animals for increase their tolerance to climate change and disease and may improve their reproduction, growth and development.
To mitigate the increasing demand of animal protein, modernization of the livestock farms are utmost important for more production around the year and at the same time there are concerns for animal health and welfare. The some of the key measures to combat adverse impact of climate on animal production will include adopting optimal management options including eco-friendly housing system, modified management practices, genetic selection of animals with increase stress tolerance, improved biosecurity measures for disease prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases, development of alternate feed resources, contingency plans and emerging preparedness for addressing natural disasters including development of resource inventory and locator. Livestock sector is growing faster in India and any shock to livestock production would adversely affect the agricultural growth, food and nutrition security and poverty.
India is predominantly an agricultural country with around 70 per cent of the population involved in agriculture and rearing of livestock. Agriculture sector contributes nearly 15.1 per cent of gross domestic production (GDP) in India. Livestock sector as a component of agriculture sector contributes 25.6 per cent in agricultural GDP and 4.11 per cent in total GDP, further dairy farming alone contributes 18.0 per cent in agricultural GDP in India.
Indian livestock sector provides sustainability and stability to the national economy by contributing to farm energy and food security. Livestock sector not only provides essential protein and nutrition to human diet through milk, eggs, meat and byproducts such as hides and skin, blood, bone, fat etc., but also plays an important role in utilization of non‐edible agricultural by‐products. India possesses second largest number of cattle next to Brazil (13% of world population), largest number of buffaloes (56% of world population) in the world.
To enhance the productivity of dairy animal, it is necessary to develop an understanding of factors affecting its milk production. There are many genetic and non-genetic factors which influence the phenotypic expression of performance traits of livestock. The nongenetic factors such as management, quantity and quality of feed, season, period of calving, age at first calving, parity, etc. influence the milk production of the animal. But, sustainability in livestock production system is largely affected by climate change. Climate change, defined as the long-term imbalance of customary weather conditions such as temperature, radiation, wind and rainfall characteristics of a particular region, is likely to be one of the main challenges for mankind during the present century. Exposure of animals to the hot conditions evokes a series of changes in the biological functions that include depression in feed intake, efficiency and utilization, disturbances in metabolism of water, protein, energy and mineral balances, enzymatic reactions, hormonal secretions and blood metabolites. Such changes result in impairment of reproduction and production performances. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC, 2007) indicated that many of the developing countries tend to be especially vulnerable to extreme climatic events as they largely depend on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry. It is likely to aggravate the heat stress in dairy animals and shortage of feed and fodder that would adversely affect their productive and reproductive performance. Furthermore, the livestock sector is a large source of methane emissions, an important greenhouse gas. Global climate change is primarily caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result in warming of the atmosphere (IPCC, 2013). The three main GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) (Steinfeld et al., 2006). Although most attention has focused on CO2 butCH4toois a potent GHG and both have immense global warming potentials (GWPs). The livestock sector contributes 14.5 per cent of global GHG emissions, and thus may increase land degradation, air and water pollution, and decline biodiversity (Reynolds et al., 2010, Thornton and Gerber, 2010 and Bellarby et al., 2013). Increasing concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere have contributed to an increase in the earth’s atmospheric temperature, an occurrence known as global warming (FAO, 2006). Climate change, particularly global warming, may strongly affect production performance of farm animals worldwide. Among the environmental variables affecting animals, heat stress seems to be one of the intriguing factors making animal production challenging in many geographical locations in the world (Koubkova et al., 2002). Animal stress level due to temperature rise has been worked out using Temperature Humidity Index (THI) in India (Upadhyay et al., 2008). Livestock Weather Safety Index (LWSI) was developed to classify the combined intensity of temperature and humidity into four categories of THI values: THI less than or equal to 74 is Normal, THI 75-78 is Alert, THI 79-83 is Danger and THI value 84 and above is Emergency condition (Eigenberg et al., 2007). All animals have a range of ambient environmental temperatures termed the thermoneutral zone and temperature below or above this thermoneutral range of the animal create stress conditions in animals. Climate change scenario constructed for India revealed that temperature rise of about or more than 4˚C is likely to increase uncomfortable days (THI>80) from existing 40 days (10.9%) to 104 days (28.5%) and that would have a negative impact on the livestock production both directly and indirectly. Dhakal et al., (2013) observed climate change had negative impact on milk production and lactation length and infertility in Nepal. St. Pierre et al., (2003) estimated a total economic animal loss incurred by the US farm animals due to heat stress to be between 1.69 to 2.36 billion US dollars about 58 per cent of which occurred in the dairy industry.
Climate Change and Animal Agriculture
Global warming is the biggest long term threat to life on earth. Rise in temperature may drive thousands of species to extinction, trigger more frequent floods and droughts and sink low lying islands and coastal areas by rising sea levels. It is the result of rising atmospheric content of CO2 mainly owing to burning of hydrocarbons or fossil fuels like as petrol and diesel. Destruction of forests and their degradation too contribute to rise in carbon dioxide levels. The IPCC (2006) projected the rate of warming for the 21st century to be between 0.8 and 4.4oC at various stabilized CO2 levels in atmosphere and it is most likely to be 3°C by the end of this century. It could cost global economy almost $7 trillion by 2050, is equivalent to a 20% fall in growth if no action is taken on greenhouse gas emissions. If action is taken, it will cost only $350 billion due to climate change already taken place, just 1% of the global GDP. The winter 2007 was the warmest and recorded 0.85oC above average of 12oC and the previous highest was 0.71oC, which occurred in 2002 in Northern Hemisphere. The entire Europe Union recorded the warm winter, having more than 2oC above average. New York experienced the highest temperature of 21.7oC on a day in January, 2007 and the second highest was recorded as 17.2oC in 1950. The year 2007 was the warmest winter in the NHS. However, floods and excess rains were also noticed due to hurricanes and tropical storms worldwide in 2007. The year 2010 was the warmest year in India, followed by 2009. It was the second warmest year globally after 1998. It was also one of the wettest years globally in recent years and it was a landmark in annals of climatology. Out of 10 years in the first decade of this century, 8 warm years took place in India except in 2005 and 2008 while 9 globally. 1998 was the warmest, followed by 2010 across the World. Several continents experienced floods too while heat wave and drought during summer in Russia. Cloud bursts in Pakistan and India led to devastating floods in August. Snow storms in the United States and the European Union were noticed. Heavy rains poured during the Northeast monsoon in southern States of India. As a whole, cereals production was adversely affected in the respective regions the World over and thus escalation in foodgrains price.
The Indian economy is mostly agrarian based and depends on onset of monsoon and its further behaviour. The year 2002 was an example to show how Indian foodgrains production depends on rainfall of July and it was declared as the all-India drought, as the rainfall deficiency was 19% against the long period average of the country and 29% of area was affected due to drought. The kharif foodgrains production was adversely affected by a whopping fall of 19.1%. Similar was the case during the monsoon season in 2009 and 2012. Occurrence of droughts and floods during South West monsoon across the Country affects foodgrains production to a greater extent. It is one of the reasons that the foodgrain production is not in tune with plan estimates and the foodgrains production is likely to touch only a maximum of 260 million tonnes by 2020 at the present rate though it is projected as 400 million tonnes to declare India as one of the developed countries.
The increase in all-India mean temperatures is almost solely contributed by increase in maximum temperature (0.6oC/100years) with minimum temperature remaining practically trendless. Consequently, there is a general increase in diurnal range of temperature. The rate of increase was more during the post monsoon season (0.870C), followed by 0.720C in winter. Across different zones of the Country, the rate of increase was more in West Coast of India, followed by the Western Himalayas of India. In rainfall, there was a decrease since last 50 years. It appears that rainfall cycle is advanced by two weeks since increase in rainfall was noticed during May and June while declined in July and August in Northwest, West and Eastern parts of the Country. A marked increase in rainfall and temperature is projected in India during the current century. The maximum expected increase in rainfall is likely to be 10-30% over central India. Temperatures are likely to increase by 3 – 4 oC towards end of the Century. It is more pronounced over Northern parts of India. In recent years, increase in night temperature during winter months was noticed in southern states of the Country.
Impact on milk production
One of the direct impacts of climate change on livestock is on the milk yield due to neuroendocrine response to climate change. Increase in number and frequency of stressful days (THI more than 80) will impact yield and production of cattle and buffalo (Upadhyay et al., 2007). High-producing dairy cows generate more metabolic heat, thus become more vulnerable to heat stress than low-producing ones. Consequently, when metabolic heat production increases in conjunction with heat stress, milk production declines rapidly (Kadzere et al., 2002 and Berman, 2005). At all India level an estimated annual loss due to direct thermal stress on livestock is about 1.8 million tonnes of milk (Rs. 2661.62 crores), that is, nearly 2 per cent of the total milk production in the country. Ravagnolo and Misztal (2000) reported milk yield decline by 0.2 kg per unit increase in THI when THI exceeded 72. The extent of milk yield decline observed in heat-stressed cows is dependent on several factors that interact with high air temperature. Buffalo exposure to high temperatures also reduces milk production because it affects the animal physiological functions, such as pulse, respiration rate, and rectal temperature (Seerapu et al., 2015), however, less attention has been given to this species (Nardone et al., 2010). The increase in milk yield increases sensitivity of cattle to thermal stress and reduces the threshold temperature at which milk losses occur (Berman, 2005). According to the studies by Berman, (2005) and Nardone et al., (2010) when high milk producing cattle were kept in hot climatic zones, metabolic heat production was intensified that resulted in an increased respiratory rate, consequently decreased the milk production. Molee et al., (2011) found that Holstein crossed with local breeds in the tropics and subtropics perform better than the pure bred Holstein and were also resistant to heat stress. Purwanto et al., (1990) reported that when non-lactating, lower milk yielding (18.5 kg/d) or high yielding (31.6 kg/d) cows were compared, low and high yielding cows produced 27 and 48 per cent more heat than non-lactating cows despite of having lower body weights (752, 624, and 597 kg for non-lactating, low, and high producers, respectively). The stage of lactation is also an important factor affecting dairy cow’s responses to heat. In general, dairy animals are more prone to heat during mid-lactation compared to early or late lactation stage. Upadhyay et al., (2007) observed the extent of decline in milk yield were less at mid lactation stage than either late or early stage and decline in yield varied from 10 -30 per cent in first lactation and 5-20 per cent in second or third lactation in Murrah buffaloes. Das et al., (2016) concluded that the heat stress during the dry period reduced mammary cell proliferation which decreased the milk yield in following lactation. The decline in milk production due to heat stress was 14 and 35 per cent in early and midlactation, respectively.
In general, small ruminants especially ewes are more sensitive to the combined temperature and relative humidity affect (the temperature humidity index) than actual temperature or relative humidity. However, the index values that trigger heat stress on ewes varies by breed type (Finocchiaro et al., 2005). The values of THI, above which ewes start to suffer from heat stress, seem to be quite different among breeds of sheep. Solar radiation seems to have a lesser effect on milk yield, but a greater effect on milk composition of Comisana ewes (Sevi et al., 2001). High air temperatures even affect goats, reducing milk yield and the content of milk components. In particular, if lactating goats are deprived of water during the hot season, they activate a water loss reduction mechanism for reducing water loss in urine, milk and by evaporation, to maintain milk production for a longer time (Olsson and Dahlborn, 1989).
Impact on animal reproduction
Heat stress due to high ambient temperature accompanied with excess humidity during summer months causes infertility in most of the farm species and have adverse effect on reproductive performance of farm animals. During hot dry (March- June) and hot humid (July- September) seasons, the THI values exceeds 80 in most parts of India. Most of the buffaloes exhibit sexual activity during cooler parts of the year (October- Feb), when the THI generally remains < 72 (Upadhyay et al., 2009). A temperature rise of more than 2°C in unabated buffaloes may cause negative impacts due to low or desynchronized endocrine activities particularly pinealhypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis altering respective hormone functions (Upadhyay et al., 2009), whereas in case of cattle, the effects of heat stress on fertility appear to carry into the autumn (October and November) even though the cows are no longer exposed to heat stress (Drew, 1999). Low temperature and THI during nights in summer (April and May) provide an opportunity to buffaloes to dissipate heat during night hours compared to day hours. This may be the reason that buffaloes experienced less stress during hot dry season compared with hot humid season (Upadhyay et al., 2009). It was reported that the climate change also influenced calving of buffaloes and maximum number of calvings occurred in winter season followed by rainy and summer seasons (Kamble et al., 2014). They further reported that the peak milk yield was highest among buffaloes calved during winter season as compared to rainy and summer season, and buffaloes calved during winter had longest lactation length. Reproductive efficiency of both livestock sexes may be affected by heat stress. In cows and pigs, it affects oocyte growth and quality (Ronchi et al., 2001 and Barati et al., 2008), impairment of embryo development, and pregnancy rate (Wolfenson et al., 2000, Hansen, 2007 and Nardone et al., 2010). Amundson et al., (2006) reported decrease in pregnancy rates of Bos taurus cattle of 3.2 per cent for each unit increase in average THI 70, and a decrease of 3.5 per cent for each increase in average temperature above 23.4° C. They further reported that the environmental variable i.e. minimum temperature of the day had the greatest influence on the percent of cows getting pregnant were not adapted to these conditions. Heat shock leads to embryonic death, at least in part, because protein synthesis is reduced (Edwards and Hanseen, 1997) and concentration of free radicals increases. In addition to effects on embryonic mortality heat stress reduces the duration and intensity of sexual behavior and estrus incidences (Naqvi et al., 2004). Diurnal pattern of estrus behaviour has been observed in majority of Murrah buffaloes. During heat stress, motor activity and other manifestations of estrus are reduced and the incidence of anestrus and silent ovulation is increased (Nebel et al., 1997). Collier et al., (1982) reported that dairy cows experiencing heat stress during late gestation had calves with lower birth weights and produced less milk than cows not exposed to heat stress. Reproductive processes in male animal are also very sensitive to disruption by hyperthermia with the most pronounced consequences being reduced quantity and quality of sperm production and decreased fertility. Scrotal circumference, testicular consistency, tone, size and weight are decrease in hot summer in the sub tropics than those of the same breeds of buffalo reared under temperate environmental conditions. It is reported that ejaculate volume, concentration of spermatozoa and sperm motility in bulls are lower in summer than in winter season (Samal, 2013).
Impact on fodder and water availability
Higher temperatures increase lignin formation in plant tissues and thereby reduce the digestibility and rates of degradation of fodder and crop residues in the ruminants. Climate change is expected to change the species composition (and hence biodiversity and genetic resources) of grasslands as well as affect the digestibility and nutritional quality of forage (Thornton et al., 2009). A decrease in forage quality can increase methane emissions per unit of gross energy consumed (Benchaar et al., 2001). Therefore, if forage quality declines, it may need to be offset by decreasing forage intake and replacing it with grain to prevent elevated methane emissions by livestock (Polley et al., 2013). Droughts and extreme rainfall variability can trigger periods of severe feed scarcity, especially in dry land areas, with devastating effects on livestock populations. Water availability issues will influence the livestock sector, which uses water for animal drinking, feed crops, and product processes (Thornton et al., 2009). The livestock sector accounts for about 8 per cent of global human water use and an increase in temperature may increase animal water consumption by a factor of two to three and to address this issue, there is a need to produce crops and raise animals in livestock systems that demand less water or in locations with water abundance (Nardone et al., 2010).
Impact on feed intake
Livestock have several nutrient requirements including energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins, which are dependent on the region and type of animal. Failure to meet the dietary needs of cattle during heat stress affects metabolic and digestive functions (Mader, 2003). Sodium and potassium deficiencies under heat stress may induce metabolic alkalosis in dairy cattle, increasing respiration rates. Heat stress in such high producing lactating dairy cows results in dramatic reductions in roughage intake and rumination. The reduction in appetite under heat stress is a result of elevated body temperature and may be related to gut fill. Decreased roughage intake contributes to decreased VFA production and may lead to alterations in the ratio of acetate and propionate. In addition, rumen pH is depressed during heat stress (Collier et al., 1982).
Impact on livestock health
The impacts of changes in ecosystems on infectious diseases depend on the ecosystems affected, the type of land-use change, disease characteristics, and the susceptibility of the populations at risk. Global climate change alters ecological construction which causes both the geographical and phonological shifts (Slenning, 2010). These shifts affect the efficiency and transmission pattern of the pathogen and increase their spectrum in the hosts (Brooks and Hoberg, 2007). The increased spectrum of pathogens increases the disease susceptibility of the animal and thus, supports the pathogenicity of the causative agent. The livestock systems are susceptible to changes in severity and distribution of livestock diseases and parasites as potential consequences. Incidence of external parasite (43.3%) was first ranked as the problem in the warm temperate (Dhakal et al., 2013).
Effects on vectors
The epidemiology of many diseases are based on transmission through vectors such as ticks, lice, mites, mosquitoes and flies, the developmental stages of which are often heavily dependent on temperature and humidity. Changes in rainfall and temperature regimes may affect both the distribution and the abundance of disease causing vectors, as can changes in the frequency of extreme events (Thornton et al., 2009). The feeding frequency of arthropod vectors may also increase with rises in temperature. As many vectors must feed twice on suitable hosts before transmission is possible (to acquire and then to transmit the infection), warmer temperatures may increase the likelihood of successful disease transmission. The hot– humid weather conditions were found to aggravate the infestation of cattle ticks like, Boophilu smicroplus, Haemaphysalis bispinosa and Hyalommaanatolicum (Basu and Bandhyopadhyay, 2004 and Kumar et al., 2004).
Effects on pathogens
Temperature increases could accelerate the growth of pathogens and/or parasites that live part of their life cycle outside of their host, which negatively affects livestock (Patz et al., 2000 and Harvell et al., 2002). Higher temperatures resulting from climate change may increase the rate of development of certain pathogens or parasites that have one or more life cycle stages outside their animal host. This may shorten generation times and, possibly, increase the total number of generations per year, leading to higher pathogen/parasite population sizes. Conversely, some pathogens are sensitive to high temperatures and their survival may decrease with climate warming. Pathogens and parasites that are sensitive to moist or dry conditions may be affected by changes to precipitation, soil moisture and the frequency of floods. Changes to winds could affect the spread of certain pathogens and vectors. Some pathogens/parasites and many vectors experience significant mortality during cold winter conditions; warmer winters may increase the likelihood of successful overwintering (Harvell et al., 2002).
Effects on hosts
Climate change may bring about substantial shifts in disease distribution, and outbreaks of severe disease could occur in previously unexposed animal populations (Thornton et al., 2009). Endemic stability occurs when the disease is less severe in younger than older individuals, when the infection is common or endemic and when there is lifelong immunity after infection. Certain tick-borne diseases of livestock in Africa, such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis and cowdriosis, show a degree of endemic stability (Eisler et al., 2003).
Impact on biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to a variety of genes, organisms, and ecosystems found within a specific environment and contribute to human well-being (Swingland, 2001). Populations that are decreasing in genetic biodiversity are at risk, and one of the direct drivers of this biodiversity loss is climate change. Climate change may eliminate 15 to 37 per cent of all species in the world (Thomas et al., 2004). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report states that an increase of 2 to 3o C above pre-industrial levels may result in 20 to 30 per cent of biodiversity loss of plants and animals (IPCC, 2013). Out of the 3831 breeds of ass, water buffalo, cattle, goat, horse, pig, and sheep recorded in the twentieth century, at least 618 had become extinct by the century’s end, and 475 of the remainder were rare. Cattle had the highest number of extinct breeds (N = 209) of all species evaluated. The livestock species that had the highest percentages of risk of breed elimination were chicken (33% of breeds), pigs (18% of breeds), and cattle (16% of breeds) The FAO (2006) report on animal genetic resources indicates that 20 per cent of reported breeds are now classified as at risk, and that almost one breed per month is becoming extinct. For developing regions, the proportion of mammalian species at risk is lower (7–10%), but 60–70 per cent of mammals are classified as being of unknown risk status. In conclusion, climate change has influenced animals adversely. In near future, many livestock breeds and plant species will be highly affected by climate change and these breeds and species cannot be replaced naturally; therefore, future research on the inherent genetic capabilities of different breeds and identification of those that can better adapt to climate conditions is vital.
Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture
Government of India is aware about the impact of climate change on agriculture and farmers’ lives. Extensive field and simulation studies were carried out in agriculture by the network centres located in different parts of the country. The climate change impact assessment was carried out using the crop simulation models by incorporating the projected climates of 2050 & 2080. In absence of adoption of adaptation measures, rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080 scenarios while, irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios. Climate change is projected to reduce wheat yield by 19.3% in 2050 and 40% in 2080 scenarios towards the end of the century with significant spatial and temporal variations. Climate change is projected to reduce the kharif maize yields by 18 and 23% in 2050 and 2080 scenarios, respectively. Climate change reduces crop yields and lower nutrition quality of produce. Extreme events like droughts affect the food and nutrient consumption, and its impact on farmers.
Government of India has formulated schemes/plans to make agriculture more resilient to climate change. The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The mission aims at evolving and implementing strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate.
To meet the challenges of sustaining domestic food production in the face of changing climate, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India launched a flagship network research project ‘National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture’ (NICRA) in 2011. The project aims to develop and promote climate resilient technologies in agriculture, which addresses vulnerable areas of the country and the outputs of the project help the districts and regions prone to extreme weather conditions like droughts, floods, frost, heat waves, etc. to cope with such extreme events. Short term and long-term research programs with a national perspective have been taken up involving adaptation and mitigation covering crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and poultry. The main thrust areas covered are;
(i) identifying most vulnerable districts/regions,
(ii) evolving crop varieties and management practices for adaptation and mitigation,
(iii) assessing climate change impacts on livestock, fisheries and poultry and identifying adaptation strategies. Since 2014, 1888 climate resilient varieties have been developed besides 68 location specific climate resilient technologies have been developed and demonstrated for wider adoption among farming communities.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha
Compiled & Shared by- Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
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Reference-On Request.
Climate Resilient Animal Husbandry
Climate Resilient Animal Husbandry
Climate Smart Technologies for Food Animal Production and Products
http://naas.org.in/Policy%20Papers/policy%2081.pdf
