Shivamogga, Dec 05: Gadag, Haveri and Chitradurga districts have been placed in the 'highest climate-risk' category, indicating the increasing vulnerability of the state's rainfed agricultural areas to climate change.
The classification has been made based on a national assessment. It indicates problems arising from erratic rainfall, prolonged dry weather and rising temperatures, which are hampering agricultural activities across north and central Karnataka.
This information was disclosed by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Lok Sabha while replying to a question by Davangere MP Dr. Prabha Mallikarjun. The assessment was conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project.
The study involved district-level risk and vulnerability analysis for 651 predominantly agricultural districts across the country following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) protocols.
Out of 651 districts assessed across the country, 310 districts have been identified as vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Of these, 109 districts have been classified as ‘high’ climate risk districts. These include Gadag, Haveri and Chitradurga in Karnataka.
This classification indicates that these districts are exposed to drought conditions, erratic monsoon patterns and increasing heat stress. This poses serious challenges to crop productivity and farmers’ livelihoods.
To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, ICAR has released 2,900 crop varieties in the last 10 years from 2014 to 2024, the minister said.
Climate-resilient and drought- and flood-tolerant varieties of rice, wheat, soybean, mustard, gram, sorghum, chickpea and ragi are being showcased in several villages through Krishi Vigyan Kendras.
Chauhan said that custom recruitment centres set up under Krishi Vigyan Kendras are helping farmers carry out timely farming operations by providing access to advanced machinery.