India adapts to climate change with new resilient crops

The launch of more than 100 new high-yield, hardy and nutritionally dense plants marks a shift in Indian agriculture from traditional staple crops, as the increasing impact of climate change takes hold.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has introduced 109 new crops to counter erratic rainfall, extreme temperatures, and soil degradation. This includes 69 field crops, such as cereals and pulses, and 40 horticultural crops like fruits and medicinal plants.

“We’re reorienting our programmes to meet future demand,” said Devendra Kumar Yadava, assistant director general at ICAR. The council can not remain focussed on increasing production in the face of climate change and soil degradation from intensive cropping, he said.

The new field crops also include oilseeds, forage, sugar and fibre crops while the horticultural ones have vegetables, tubers, spices, plantation crops and flowers. This diverse basket was based on crop selection. It takes nearly 10 years to develop a new variety, which is then released and officially notified under Section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966.

What makes these crops climate-resilient?

The bouquet includes the 'jowar' millet, a sorghum hybrid which matures earlier than the market variety (CSH 30) before inclement weather sets in. Its crop is resistant to five diseases — fully resistant to most and moderately to one. Experts, like Mithlesh Kumar of Agriculture University, Jodhpur, stress that such climate-resilient alternatives like millet, quinoa, and amaranth could secure food production.

Scientists developed these varieties by crossbreeding plants with natural resistance from genebanks, then selecting resistant offspring and testing them in controlled disease nurseries.

In a changing climate, it is uncertain which disease might strike, so multi-disease resistant crops are vital, says Janila Pasupuleti, crop breeding leader and principal scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

The amaranth variety Jodhpur Rajgira 2, bred through pureline selection, was recognized for its high grain yield, biofortification, and climate resilience. It has superior fat, protein, and lysine content, withstands temperature fluctuations and requires less water than mainstream crops. After rigorous testing from 2021 to 2023, it was approved for release in seven states, says Mithlesh Kumar.

Three low phosphorus-tolerant rice varieties have also been released to address phosphorus deficiency in crops, a common cause of reduced yields. Two of these varieties can be direct-seeded, unlike traditional rice varieties, saving 30% of water, cutting labour, and lowering methane emissions, Yadava notes.

Similarly, the wheat variety HI1665 (Pusa Gehun Sharbati) is suited for dry areas and demonstrates resilience under heat stress, according to Ratan Tiwari, director of ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research. Meanwhile, sorghum hybrids bred at ICRISAT need less fertilizer, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adds Pasupuleti.

However, replacing the old crop varieties with these new ones will be crucial. Without stronger support for formal and informal seed systems, new crop varieties may never reach farmers. “Pigeon pea, chickpea, or groundnut take about 15 to 18 years to be fully replaced — this is far too long. In contrast, the variety replacement rate for pearl millet hybrids is just five years,” Pasupuleti points out.