Climate change and food shortage, resulting due to it, has been one of the major problems being faced by the World in recent times. Over the past century, human activities have released Carbon dioxide and Greenhouse gases to the atmosphere thereby altering it. Greenhouse gases, that is present as a blanket around the Earth, warms up the atmosphere by trapping energy entering it. This phenomenon is called the Greenhouse Effect and it is natural and necessary to support life on earth. However, a build-up of greenhouse gases cause climate changes which result in dangerous effects to human health and ecosystems.
Cause of Global Warming and Climate Change
Global warming is due to increased emission and build-up of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s environment. Almost 30 percent of incoming sunlight is reflected back into space by bright surfaces like clouds and ice, whereas most of the other 70 percent, is absorbed by the land and ocean, and also the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere. This absorption and radiation of warmth by the atmosphere is useful for all times on Earth. Today, the atmosphere contains a lot of harmful gas molecules, thus a lot of infrared energy emitted by the surface finally ends up being absorbed by the atmosphere. By increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases, we tend to make Earth’s atmosphere a more efficient greenhouse.
Effects of Climate Change on India
India being the second largest populous country in the world is in the 5th position of the list of countries at a higher risk of climate change and its adverse effects, due to its tropical location and relatively lower levels of income. According to the research led by Prof. Richard Betts of University of Exeter, UK – “Climate change is expected to lead to more extremes of both heavy rainfall and drought that can increase vulnerability to food insecurity”.
The impact of climate change in India ,as found by(INCCA) raises concerns due to its maximum effect on food production and vulnerability of livestock.
A recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on climate change) report warned that Agriculture and Food production are likely to be significantly affected by climate change resulting in decline of major crop yield by 25%. According to the United Nation’s World Population Prospects (June 2019), the Indian population is projected to increase from 1.36 billion in 2019 to 1.64 billion in 2050. Thus food security will stand threatened due to climate change coupled with increasing demands of the rising population.
In 2011, the research on impact assessment on crops using simulation models for climate projections for 2020, 2050 and 2080 show that the yield of rice irrigated areas may decrease by 7% in 2050 an 10% in 2080. The yield of maize in irrigated areas of kharif was projected to decline by 18% by 2020.
National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) expects reduced productivity of rice and wheat (Indo-Gangetic plains); Sorghum and potato (West Bengal, southern plateau) and maize(southern plateau). The study also found that the productivity of soybean, groundnut, chickpea and potato in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh may go up. Similarly, apple production in Himachal Pradesh may show signs of increment , whereas, increased temperature and rainfall pattern may result in lower yield of cotton.
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Role of Modern Biotechnology on Climate change and Resulting Food Shortage
Scientists trust that world temperatures can still rise for many years to return, for the most part because of greenhouse gases made by human activities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) explicit that the extent climate change effects on individual regions can will vary over time and with ability various social and environmental systems mitigate or adapt to change. This decade is considered the warmest one since 1880. In line with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010 and 2005 has been the warmest years on record. The earth could warm by an additional 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 21st century if we fail to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuel. The rising of temperature will have dire effects on the earth’s climate patterns and on all living things which may solely be prevented by science, specifically Biotechnology.
Green biotechnology offers an answer to decrease green house gases and so controls temperature change. Biotech crops for the last 16 years of commercialization are conducive to the reduction of CO2 emissions. They not only allow farmers to use less and environmentally friendly energy and fertilizer but also practice soil carbon sequestration. Modern biotechnology also addresses certain food- security problems of developing countries by offering an agricultural system that is more reliant on biological processes rather than chemical applications.
The potential uses of modern biotechnology in agriculture helps in increasing yields whereas reducing inputs of fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides. They confer drought or salt tolerance on crop plants by increasing shelf- life, reducing losses after harvest and increasing the nutrient content of product, by Genetically Modifying the crops.
Thus governments all over the world have made efforts to formulate mitigation strategies to address the impact of climate change by the use of Biotechnology. Under the NICRA project, Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) have been working hard to breed varieties of different crops which are climate-resilient.
One such success is Sahbhagidhan, a variety of paddy which was jointly developed by the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) and Central Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station of ICAR at Hazaribagh. It was released in 2010 and since then, it has gained success in uplands in eastern India in drought conditions. It matures in 105 days while most other varieties take 120-150 days to maturity. Farmers can plant another crop after harvesting this.
IRRI is also breeding a flood-tolerant variety of paddy by manipulating genes to get better strains which can enable paddy rice to survive for up to 15 days of submergence in floodwater. Research on climate-resilient varieties of wheat, mustard, lentil, chickpea, mung bean, groundnut and soybean is also under progress in various institutions of ICAR. Improved crops resilient to extreme environments- Salinity(GM wheat, GM barley), Heat stress( GM Chrysanthemun), Cold tolerance( GM eucalypti); caused by climate change are expected to give another boost to sustain food supply for the doubling population.
Furthermore, Herbicide tolerant biotech crops such as Soybean and Canola facilitate zero or no-till, which significantly reduces the loss of soil carbon (carbon sequestration) and CO2 emissions, reduce fuel use, and significantly reduce soil erosion.
Insect resistant biotech crops ( Bt Cotton, Bt Corn, Bt Eggplant etc.) require fewer pesticide sprays which results in savings of tractor/fossil fuel and thus less CO2 emissions. In the year 2011, there was a discount of 37 million weight unit of active ingredients, weakened rate of herbicide and insecticide sprays and tilling reduced CO2 emission by 23.1 billion weight unit of CO2 or removing 10.2 million cars off the road. Hence, Biotechnology can be referred to as the key solution for not only Climate change but also food shortage as a result of it.
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