The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved a regional project on ‘Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management’ under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).
The project was approved at a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Climate Change, held in Delhi on 28 December 2017. The meeting was chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, C.K Mishra.
Key Highlights
The first phase of the project has been approved at a cost of approximately Rs 100 crore for the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The project will leverage approximately three times the approved amount with contribution from the states as well as farmers.
It not only aims to lessen climate change impacts and enhance adaptive capacity but it will also counter the adverse environmental impacts that arise from burning.
Implementation of the Project
• The project will be implemented following a phased approach.
• Initially, awareness generation and capacity building activities will be undertaken to encourage farmers to adopt alternate practices which would also help diversify livelihood options and enhance farmer’s income.
• A slew of technological interventions will be undertaken for timely management of crop residue in addition to effective utilisation of existing machineries.
• Implementable and sustainable entrepreneurship models will be created in rural areas through upscaling successful initiatives and innovative ideas.
Speaking on the occasion, Environment Secretary C K Mishra stated that based upon the performance in the first phase, the scope could be enhanced and more activities would be supported subsequently.
Further, Projects from Nagaland, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh were also approved in the meeting.
Despite limited budgetary provision, NAFCC has approved 27 innovative projects, covering vulnerable sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry among others, since its launch in 2015.
Background
• The problem of crop residue burning has been intensifying over the years, with Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh being the major burning hotspots.
• Some of the main reasons for residues being burnt in field include increased mechanisation, declining number of livestock, long period required for composting and no economically viable alternate use of the residues.
• The act has an adverse impact on air quality, soil quality and human health as well.
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