Climate change and food security

At the outset, Cheriyan’s two-acre cardamom farm is a thriving inexperienced panorama underneath the cerulean sky. But on nearer inspection, you will notice the wilted shoots and broken pods — byproducts of an erratic climate.

The Malayalam month of Edavam has come to an finish with none regular downpour, the dry spell stretching all by way of the third week of June apart from some delicate, dwindling drizzles. Plants miss that wealthy monsoon hue and farmers in Idukki, a district that recorded a big rain deficit of 69% throughout the June 1-22 interval, are bracing for a doable crop failure.

“It’s for the first time we are experiencing a nearly dry monsoon while the temperature keeps rising. A delayed or failed monsoon will affect the capsule formation and the yield will dip,” says the 67-year-old from Kumily.

Cardamom

Cardamom is one among the many many thermosensitive crops hit by rising mercury ranges, change in climate patterns and excessive weather conditions, including to the agrarian misery within the State. Farmers complain that the inconsistent rain sample is inflicting crop loss and delayed flowering, whereas the aberrancy in temperature and humidity is triggering pest assaults. The fall in yield has hit their livelihood and at current lots of them are observing an unsure future.

“The majority of residents in our village are dependent on the single crop of cardamom and it’s practically impossible for us to switch. I have been cultivating cardamom for the last 22 years and the changing climate is posing a serious threat to us. We have been farmers for generations and at present we are in the middle of a major crisis,” provides Mr. Cheriyan, as his cousin Shaji agrees.

“There has been a steady rise in average daytime temperature. We used to grow orange in the past, but we had to quit after the spike in temperature started impacting the fruition of orange groves. The high-range climate is no more the same and the cardamom farmers are having a hard time,” factors out Mr. Shaji.

According to Suresh Kumar, a farmer from Kattappana, it began with the floods of 2018 when incessant rain precipitated widespread crop injury. “After the first floods, the proportion of rain has never been the same and our harvest cycle also changed. During the month of June we add manure to expedite the germination of charams (panicles) and if there is no rain, the growth will slow down. Though the plants currently look healthy due to the pre-monsoon rain, the yield will be very poor,” he says.

He provides that whereas 250 kg of dried cardamom is the typical yield you normally get from one acre, now it has come all the way down to 160-170 kg. Though there was a substantial dip in yield from particular person holdings, the general manufacturing of the spice has elevated on account of space extension over the last 5 years.

“In 2017-18 there was a sharp rise in demand and the prices crossed Rs4,000 per kilogram. With the prices going through the roof, many farmers stopped cultivating other crops and planted cardamom expecting bumper returns. As production and supply increased, prices came down to Rs680, which hardly covers the production cost. While huge estates that cultivate a range of crops and generate huge volumes of cardamom are not much affected, small-scale farmers are struggling,” he provides.

Pest and pesticide use

Pointing to the deformed pods fallen from the plant, Baby says pest assaults have turn into extra frequent with the change in local weather. “We are unable to control these pests with very high resistance and as they easily adapt to changes. We are forced to spray pesticides to salvage what is left of our crop,” provides the farmer from Udumbanchola. He confirms that they make common journeys to pesticide sellers to purchase what known as ‘vesham’ (poison) in native parlance.

“It may be highly toxic and we have no idea if it’s legal or whether the ratio is correct. We also fear that they might ruin the soil in the long run, but we don’t have any other options since we hardly get any support from authorities. We lack any other means to cope,” he provides.

While local weather change is an element impacting the crop, this indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides may give rise to a spate of opposed consequence, says Muthusami Murugan, Professor and head of the Cardamom Research Station at Pampadumpara, Idukki. “Climate change has brought a lot of variations in rainfall behaviour including intensity and rainy days on annual and seasonal scale. This has had a positive effect on pest pressure and affected the cardamom yield. But high-intensity chemical use will affect the growth, development, flowering and capsule setting of cardamom under the changing climatic conditions in the Indian cardamom hills,” he says.

Cashew nut

The Aralam Farming Corporation Kerala Limited in Kannur, which produces round 90% of the uncooked cashew nut in Kerala, noticed a document fall in yield this season. Spread throughout 350 hectares, Aralam orchards produce high-quality nut that enjoys an enormous demand within the inside market. “Our total yield during the last season was 184 tonnes and this time it came down to 90, which means there was more than 50% dip in production,” says S.Bimalghosh, managing director of the farm.

While extra rainfall throughout the flowering season affected the fruit setting course of, the wayward climate additionally tousled the standard of the produce. “Due to the continuous rain the nuts started sprouting on the tree and even the fallen ones began to germinate within a couple of days. We lost around 1500 kg of nut due to sprouting induced by unseasonal rain,” he provides.

In a bid to avoid wasting the sinking cashew sector, the State authorities had launched an intensive plantation drive distributing round 25 lakh high-yielding grafts during the last 5 years. At current the cultivation is unfold over one lakh hectares of land and a surge in annual nut manufacturing was additionally reported over the last season.

“But the picture has changed this time and the farmers have reported an unprecedented dip in production. The rain that continued till November caused the flowers to fall and the rise in temperature during December-January was also not favourable for the crop. There was a consistent increase in production till 2018, but we are seeing variations during the last couple of years,” says Shirish Kesavan, particular officer (cashew) and chairman, Kerala State Agency for the growth of Cashew Cultivation (KSACC).

Spike in pest inhabitants

Variations in temperature and relative humidity typically facilitate the emergence of recent pests and illnesses, leaving many crops inclined to assaults and outbreaks. “While these changes will accelerate fungal infection in some crops, you will see minor pests turning into major pests for some. With the rise in temperature, the number of lifecycles will increase and there will be a spike in pest population. In the future, controlling these pests and diseases will be a key concern,” says P. Shajeesh Jan, Department of Agricultural Meteorology, Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Wayanad.

While pure enemies are multiplying within the heat climate situations, excessive rainfall occasions have been wiping out soil nutrient reserves, producing a destructive affect on the crops. “Excessive rainfall will lower soil fertility and turn it acidic. With the top soil washed away there will be a depletion in organic matter,” he provides.

According to a examine carried out by the Indian Cardamom Research Institute underneath the Spices Board and College of Climate Change and Environmental Science underneath Kerala Agricultural University, thermosensitive crops like cocoa, black pepper, cardamom, espresso and tea could also be underneath menace because the temperature vary throughout the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) of Idukki district is rising. It additionally finds a rise within the floor air temperature throughout the State and requires proactive measures to alleviate dangers associated to the standard and amount of the crops. While poor rain impacts pepper pollination, resulting in a dip in manufacturing, change in humidity ranges will affect the scale and high quality of espresso bean.

A worrying shrinkage in paddy farming space is without doubt one of the main finds within the examine on ‘Climate change and cropping sample of plantation crops and spices in Kerala’. “The increase in area under banana, areca nut and rubber is mostly at the expense of paddy fields. Rubber has encroached on more and more areas of the State. The paddy cultivating areas of the high ranges have either paved the way for rubber cultivation or to pineapple, areca nut, banana and other seasonal crops,” it says.

Since the onset, distribution and behaviour of the monsoon have modified over time, virippu (wet season) paddy, which is closely depending on monsoon, is underneath extreme menace in lots of elements. “Since virippu paddy is mainly a rainfed crop, farmers will not have resources for supplemental irrigation. This year water was released from the Malampuzha dam to save the crop in Palakkad which has the largest acreage of paddy farms. Since the first crop is always rainfed, we irrigate the farms only during the mundakan season (second crop) from October to December. Water deficit is a major challenge for paddy and this change in pattern has altered our traditional crop calendar,” says climatologist Gopakumar Cholayil.

Paddy

Paddy farmers are a nervous lot since incessant summer season showers had wreaked havoc in Kuttanad, destroying the harvest-ready puncha crop in April 2022. “Heavy downpours started in the beginning of the harvest season and within no time the paddy polders were inundated. It was practically impossible to drain the water and the crop started rotting in front of our eyes. Continuing crop failure and mounting debts are making our life miserable,” says Purushan, a farmer from Alappuzha.

While many farmers couldn’t reap the harvest, those that managed had been unable to move it and the standard of the produce was very mediocre at many polders. “Moreover, heavy summer rainfall aggravated bacterial leaf blight disease in paddy and this year a lot of farmers had to suffer yield losses due to that,” provides Mr.Cholayil.

Prolonged dry spells, delayed monsoons, depth shifts and cloudbursts – all of them level to the truth that the rainfall state of affairs within the State has modified. In January 2021 Munnar recorded sub-zero temperature and the chilly wave had a devastating affect on the vegetable tracts in Vattavada.

“In Marayur, sugarcane farmers lost an entire season and it’s a clear-cut example of the climate change,” he observes. During the time Kerala witnessed an exceptionally excessive rainfall of 105.5 mm in opposition to the traditional of 11.zero mm. “In Idukki daytime temperature is rising while night temperature is falling. In the long run, this widening gap in temperature range will adversely affect the high-range crops growing in forest-agro ecosystems,” he says. As the shift in rainfall and temperature developments have gotten extra pronounced, farmers are pressured to go for crops which have comparatively greater resilience.

Since climate-related crop failure has activated a shift in cropping system the place non-foodgrain crops are steadily changing foodgrain crops, creating adaptation and mitigation methods is essential. “We cannot formulate the strategy without consistent studies. Our research should focus more on spell analysis instead of monthly or yearly statistics. Heavy rain within a short span of time, variations in high-range temperature, extreme weather events — all these indicate that the climate is changing and it can have a serious impact on the food security of the State. We need short-term and long-term programmes instead of looking for quick-fixes during climate-related contingencies. A joint effort of experts from various streams is crucial for developing the strategy,” says Mr. Cholayil.