Essay – Agriculture and resource management to reduce the probability of disasters
Introduction-
According to the intergovernmental science policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services 75% of the earth’s land area is degraded. In India about 29% of the total land area which is 96.4 million hectares is considered as degraded land. These distressing statistics draw our attention towards agriculture and resource management for betterment of the human race and avoiding any natural disaster. India is one of the top performers in agricultural productivity all around the world whereas it is also one of the worst affected countries because of climate change and natural disasters.
Agriculture is the most important economic activity in the country as it not only ensures food security but also tackles nutrition and improves the living standard of the rural population.
Challenges in Indian agriculture
There are various challenges associated with the Indian agriculture system with respect to resource management like-
- No proper crop rotation- majority of the people engaged in agriculture in India are illiterate and they are not aware of the importance of rotation. They grow the same type of crop consequently which leads to lack of soil fertility and decreased agricultural productivity.
- Inadequate use of natural manures- Indian farmers do not use adequate amount of manures like cow dung or organic material because of which Indian agriculture is far less productive than Japanese or Chinese agriculture systems
- Inadequate supply of water- Although India is rich in water potential and most of the regions in the country are more than adequate to sustain their agricultural productivity, but these vast supplies of water are not used to their full potential because of less technological development in discovering cheap and easy methods of supplying water. Most of the Indian agriculture land area is dependent on monsoons for their irrigational requirements.
- More reliance on chemical fertilisers- large amounts of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides are used in modern agriculture which is resulting in water and soil pollution. It is also harmful for human health as there are an increasing number of cases of antimicrobial resistance and cancerous diseases.
- Low quality seeds- the high yielding variety of seeds are not available to small and marginal farmers as they are costly in comparison to conventionally used seeds.
- Regional disparities- in India farmers grow crops according to the minimum support price declared by the government for maximising their benefits. It leads to unsustainable cropping patterns like production of sugarcane and paddy in Punjab and Haryana region. Punjab and Haryana lie in the arid agro climatic region and for paddy cultivation large amounts of irrigation is required. Because of this large scale depletion of groundwater is taking place which is resulting in soil salinity, alkalinity and waterlogging.
- Soil erosion- large tracts of agricultural land area face wind or water erosion and it needs to be properly treated and restored to its original fertility.
- Natural calamities- because of erratic rainfall patterns and climate change Indian agriculture system is also prone to various disasters like droughts, floods, crop failures, heat waves, cold waves, pest attacks, locust swarming etc.
Need of resource management in modern perspective-
The practice of planning and utilisation of the available resources for maximizing the benefits and also reducing its negative impacts. All the natural resources like soil, water, air, wind, sunlight etc are needed to be utilised properly and sustainably for reaping the maximum benefit out of it without compromising with the quality of resources for future generations. Various steps are taken by the government for the resource management of the country like-
- For addressing the rising energy requirement of the nation the government is shifting towards the non conventional sources of energy like solar energy wind energy geo thermal energy tidal energy etc. Large scale use of conventional sources of energy like thermal energy using coal has led to environmental pollution.
- For preserving the water bodies and improving the quality of water various ambitious programs like Namami gange project jal Jeevan mission etc have been initiated by the government. It not only ensures the good quality of water but also provides clean and safe drinking water to all the human beings and also concentrates on the well being of marine life. With this government aims to reduce the spread of water borne diseases.
- Various soil and environmental conservation projects have been initiated for conserving the climate. Under the Wildlife protection Act 1972 various national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are designated for conserving the overall ecosystem of that place from any kind of human interference. Government is also taking up various afforestation and urban forestry programs for restoring the lost environment health.
- Various multilateral conventions like the Earth summit, Montreal protocol, Kyoto protocol, COP28 etc have took place which try to draw international consensus on the emerging global environmental issues.
- Government has initiated various crop insurance programs like Pradhan mantri fasal Bima Yojana for reducing the farmers distress in the case of crop failures and natural calamities.
- Collectivisation of agricultural land and cooperative farming is encouraged for increasing farm mechanization and making it sustainable in terms of value. One of the most famous example of cooperative farming is Anand milk udyog ltd of Gujarat which organised the milk production chain in the country and made it profitable to the farmers.
Also See: Essay on Future risk of disaster and climate risks
Way forward-
- More adaptability of the renewable energy is required to deal with the increasing rate of air pollution.
- Various river linking projects should be initiated to supply water from surplus regions to the regions facing water deficit. It will also reduce the dependence of Indian agriculture system on monsoon.
- Early warning systems for various natural disasters should be generated for reducing the man and material loss.
- Coastal regulation norms should be implemented for reducing the risk of coastal erosion, floods and cyclones.
- Sustainable infrastructural development and urban forestry should be encouraged for maintaining the environmental balance.
- Sustainable mining practices should be adopted and the mined minerals should be reused to the maximum extent possible.
- Modern agricultural practices and technology innovations like PUSA decomposers for dealing with hay and paddy straws, rotavaters, happy seeders etc. should be adopted for minimising environmental impact.
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