Council on Energy, Environment and Water Integrated | International | Independent
Problem: Agricultural households find themselves at the forefront of climate-induced calamities, exacerbating their existing conditions of income insecurity, soil degradation, and nutritional deficiencies
CEEW Analysis: By treating livelihood, environment and nutrition as interconnected systems, sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs) provide a climate-resilient alternative to traditional farming.
Accelerating SAPs adoptions: Integrate holistic monitoring, local risk mapping and household-level planning to mainstream climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture.
Indian agriculture is at a crossroads with the climate crisis escalating in both frequency and severity. In the past four decades, 30 per cent of our districts witnessed high numbers of deficient rainfall years, while 38 per cent endured frequent years of excessive rainfall. These intensifying extreme climate events have noticeably affected farmers, with an 8 and 5 per cent drop in rice yield in South and East India, respectively. As climate projections signal further warming and erratic weather, India’s agricultural systems face alarming threats. The degree of impact, however, will vary across agricultural households, depending on their exposure, existing vulnerabilities, and the capacity to adapt.
Low-income agricultural households are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme climate events. In states like Jharkhand, the average monthly income per agricultural household is INR 4,895, which is less than half the national average of INR 10,218. This acute income disparity is exacerbated by poor access to social safety nets, including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) jobs and ration cards, and limited savings. Barriers such as lack of documentation and high transaction costs further restrict access to formal credit, agricultural inputs, and crop insurance—tools essential for climate adaptation. Consequently, many farmers are compelled to rely on informal credit. In 2019, informal sources accounted for 30 per cent of all agricultural credit, rising sharply to 71.8 per cent among marginal farmers, heightening their vulnerability to debt traps and rendering them incapable of investing in adaptive measures. Such households are unable to absorb the shock of crop loss, leaving them disproportionately exposed to the socioeconomic havoc wreaked by extreme climate events.
The regional vulnerability of Indian agriculture is significantly determined by the uneven distribution of soil nutrients, including imbalanced levels of nitrogen and carbon. For example, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, with their nitrogen and organic carbon-rich soil, are more secure against the effects of climate crisis compared to the nitrogen and organic carbon-deficient states of Assam and Rajasthan. Agricultural lands with adequate nitrogen and carbon function as important carbon reservoirs, mitigating climate change by reducing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. High soil organic carbon also helps stabilise soil temperature, retain moisture, and resist desertification.
Using mineral fertilisers to remedy nutritional gaps is not the preferred solution since fertiliser use efficiency varies across regions owing to differences in soil type, cropping patterns, and irrigation practices. Hence, farmers find themselves growing dependent on external inputs such as chemical fertilisers and irrigation, increasing cultivation costs and exposure to climate shocks.
Nutrition underpins the capacity to adapt to and recover from climate shocks. Malnourished individuals are more susceptible to climate-induced stresses due to weakened immune systems and poor health conditions. For instance, a national-level study shows a significant increase in malnutrition rates in flooded areas as compared to non-flooded areas, where 38 per cent of children were stunted, 20 per cent were wasted, and 35.7 per cent were underweight. Furthermore, social disadvantage compounds this vulnerability: children born into marginalised households face a 16 per cent higher risk of stunting, making them concerningly prone to extreme climate events
Climate impacts, as discussed above, cascade across livelihoods, environment, and nutrition, deepening long-term risks. Most responses to climate extremes have remained siloed and focused on short-term relief, such as distributing emergency kits or organising evacuations. While necessary, these measures do not resolve the structural vulnerabilities that repeatedly expose farmers to shocks. Building resilience in Indian agriculture, therefore, requires solutions that simultaneously strengthen incomes, safeguard soils, and improve nutrition.
Sustainable Agriculture Practices (SAPs) offer such an integrated pathway. Unlike reactive relief measures, SAPs address the root cause of vulnerability by treating livelihoods, environment, and nutrition as interconnected systems. According to a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), farmers adopting SAPs have reported higher incomes, healthier soils, and improved nutrition security, making this a holistic approach to climate adaptation.
SAPs enhance agricultural climate resilience through practices such as minimal tillage, crop rotation, and multi-cropping, which promote healthy ecosystems, supporting root growth, balanced shoot development, and lodging resistance. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, farmers practising natural farming, a form of sustainable agriculture, reported only 5 per cent crop damage during Cyclone Michaung, compared to 100 per cent damage suffered by nearby conventional farms. Additionally, SAPs promote integrated farming systems, combining different varieties of crops with livestock, poultry, and other allied activities, which provides farmers with a buffer to survive extreme climatic events, reducing their financial vulnerability.
SAPs also improve soil health by increasing soil organic carbon through composting, mulching, and agroforestry. Integrated soil nutrient management through natural farming (NF) practices, such as intercropping and the use of cover crops, enhances the availability of essential macro and micronutrients in soil. For example, using bio-inputs, such as compost and biochar, boosts microbial activity, improving soil texture and moisture retention during dry spells. By decreasing chemical inputs, cultivation costs for crops like wheat can be cut up to 60%, while crop residues and livestock waste can be converted into feed, biogas, or manure, further optimising farm resources and lowering overall costs for the farmer.
Finally, SAPs strengthen nutrition security. Practices such as multi-cropping and crop diversification enhance access to diverse, iron and micronutrient-rich crops like millets. In Odisha, the Millet Mission successfully reintroduced millets into local diets, addressing anaemia among women and improving household nutrition.
To scale the adoption of SAPs, it is crucial to first recognise the complexity of the agri-food system and track outcomes meaningfully. The following recommendations outline a path forward:
Building climate resilience in agriculture means strengthening the everyday systems of production and care in which farmers are embedded. Prioritising localised planning, holistic monitoring and household-centred support can help scale the already available sustainability mechanisms within these ecosystems, leading to a more stable, inclusive and adaptive agricultural future.
Vanshika Shah and Aishwarya Joshi are Research Analysts at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), New Delhi. Send your comments to aishwarya.joshi@ceew.in
