Government released data under National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture NICRA showing 310 districts vulnerable to climate change and expansion of climate resilient farming technologies across India.
About NICRA
Implemented by Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICAR
Objective: Climate resilient agriculture and food security
Focus:
Climate risk assessment
Adaptation technologies
Farmer capacity building
Climate resilient crop varieties
Key Findings
Climate Risk Assessment
Total districts assessed: 651 agricultural districts
Vulnerable districts: 310 districts
Very high vulnerability: 109 districts
High vulnerability: 201 districts
Assessment based on IPCC protocols
District Agriculture Contingency Plans
Prepared for 651 districts
Aim:
Handle extreme weather
Recommend climate resilient crops
Provide location specific farming practices
Climate Resilient Villages
448 Climate Resilient Villages
Located in 151 vulnerable districts
Implemented through Krishi Vigyan Kendras KVKs
Crop Variety Development
2900 crop varieties released during 2014 to 2024
2661 varieties climate tolerant
Resistant to: Drought, Flood, Heat, and Pests
Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras
Total KVKs: 731
Farmers trained: 18.56 lakh
Promote climate resilient technologies
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture
Kisane Mitra AI Chatbot
Voice based AI
Supports 11 languages
Handles 20,000 queries daily
Total responses: 95 lakh queries
Bharat VISTAAR Platform
AI powered advisory platform
Provides:
Weather updates
Market rates
Scheme information
24×7 AI assistant Bharati
Currently supports Hindi and English
National Pest Surveillance System
Uses AI and Machine Learning
Covers:
61 crops
400 pests
Used by 10,000 extension workers
Kisan Sarathi Platform
Digital advisory platform
Registered farmers: 2.75 crore
Coverage: 3.43 lakh villages
[2021] In the context of India’s preparation for Climate-Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements: 1 The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research program. 2 The project of CCAFS is carried out under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), headquartered in France. 3 The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centers. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3
A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi raised concerns over consistently low procurement of rice and wheat compared to estimates.
Key Findings
1. Persistent Gap
Since 2022-23: Procurement < 30% of total production
Gap between: Estimated procurement vs actual procurement
Indicates: Weak planning and coordination
Recommendations
1. Strengthen Procurement Planning
Improve estimation methods
Make targets more realistic
2. Better Centre-State Coordination
Focus on: States with repeated shortfalls
3. Real-Time Monitoring
Track: Production and Market arrivals
4. Improve Procurement Efficiency
Ensure: Timely and effective procurement operations
[2020] Which of the following factors/policies were affecting the price of rice in India in the recent past? 1. Minimum Support Price Government’s trading 2. Government’s stockpiling Consumer subsidies Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1, 2 and 4 only (b) 1, 3 and 4 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
The Supreme Court of India asked the Union Government to reconsider agricultural policies and encourage farmers to shift from wheat and paddy cultivation to pulses.
Key Observations by the Court
A Bench headed by Surya Kant stressed the need for agricultural diversification, particularly in North India where paddy cultivation dominates.
The Court noted that excessive cultivation of paddy may not be necessary except for export needs, and land could instead be used for pulses.
Directions to the Government
Review the policy framework to promote pulse cultivation.
Convene a meeting of stakeholders, including experts and farmer representatives.
Address issues affecting pulse farmers such as:
Lack of adequate Minimum Support Price (MSP) incentives.
Ensuring guaranteed and timely procurement of pulses.
Fixing the cost price of imported yellow peas so imports do not harm domestic producers.
Relevant ministries expected to participate include:
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution
Context
The case was filed by the farmers’ organisation Kisan Mahapanchayat, which sought restrictions on yellow pea imports to protect domestic pulse farmers.
Significance
Promoting pulses could:
Improve soil health through nitrogen fixation.
Reduce water-intensive paddy cultivation.
Enhance India’s nutritional security, as pulses are a major protein source.
Reduce dependence on pulse imports.
[2020] With reference to pulse production in India, consider the following statements: Black gram can be cultivated as both kharif and rabi crop. Green-gram alone accounts for nearly half of pulse production. In the last three decades, while the production of kharif pulses has increased, the production of rabi pulses has decreased. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
PYQ Relevance[UPSC 2024] Distinguish between gender equality, gender equity and women’s empowerment. Why is it important to take gender concerns into account in programme design and implementation?Linkage: The article highlights structural barriers faced by women farmers such as lack of land ownership, credit access, and institutional recognition, demonstrating why gender-sensitive policy design in agriculture and food systems is essential.
Mentor’s Comment
International Women’s Day 2026 coincides with the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This places a renewed global attention on the structural exclusion of women from land ownership, agricultural decision-making, and food systems governance. Despite constituting a significant share of the agricultural workforce in India, women farmers remain largely invisible in policy and institutional frameworks. There is a contradiction between women’s central role in food production and their marginal access to land, credit, technology, and nutrition security. Addressing gender inequalities in agriculture is essential for improving food security, nutrition outcomes, and climate-resilient farming systems.
Why does the issue of women farmers demand urgent attention today?
International recognition: International Women’s Day 2026 aligns with the International Year of the Woman Farmer, emphasising gender equality in global food systems.
Policy-practice gap: Legal reforms providing equal inheritance rights for daughters have not translated into land ownership for women due to social norms and administrative barriers.
Invisible farmers: Women who manage farms and negotiate with labourers often lack legal recognition as farmers, limiting access to credit, crop insurance, irrigation schemes, and extension services.
Structural exclusion: Eligibility for government agricultural schemes remains linked to land ownership, which is largely held by men.
Nutritional paradox: Women who produce food frequently lack diverse and nutritious diets, with rural diets dominated by cereals and limited access to pulses, fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods.
How do land ownership patterns restrict women’s participation in agriculture?
Patriarchal inheritance: Land titles remain concentrated in male ownership due to patrilineal inheritance practices.
Administrative barriers: Limited awareness, bureaucratic hurdles, and social resistance prevent women’s names from appearing in land records.
Institutional exclusion: Lack of land titles restricts women’s access to institutional credit, crop insurance, irrigation schemes, and agricultural extension services.
Weak bargaining power: Absence of legal ownership reduces women’s influence in agricultural decision-making and market negotiations.
Asset deprivation: Women farmers often cultivate land without formal ownership, creating vulnerability in cases of displacement, widowhood, or marital conflict.
Does the feminisation of agriculture translate into empowerment?
Labour shift: Male migration has increased women’s role in cultivation, household food provisioning, and farm management.
Workload intensification: Women experience dual burdens of productive agricultural labour and reproductive household responsibilities.
Limited mechanisation: Lack of access to labour-saving technologies increases drudgery and health risks.
Health consequences: Women with heavy workloads, particularly during peak agricultural seasons, face micronutrient deficiencies and health stress.
Intergenerational effects: Maternal undernutrition contributes to low birth weight and poor child development outcomes.
Why are nutrition outcomes among women farmers still poor?
Cereal-dominated diets: Rural diets remain focused on rice and wheat, with limited consumption of nutrient-dense foods.
Persistent anaemia: High prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age represents a major public health concern.
Intergenerational malnutrition: Maternal undernutrition increases risks of child stunting and developmental deficits.
Food security paradox: Women responsible for producing food often lack control over household nutrition choices.
How effective are India’s food security programmes in addressing gender inequality?
Food security framework: The National Food Security Act (NFSA) guarantees subsidised cereals and nutritional support for pregnant women and children.
Supplementary nutrition: Nutrition programmes include maternal entitlements and supplementary feeding through Anganwadis.
State innovations: Some states promote millets, fortified staples, and local foods within food distribution systems.
Implementation gaps: Nutrition outcomes remain uneven due to weak programme integration and limited focus on diet diversity.
Digital exclusion: Digitalisation of welfare systems can exclude women with poor connectivity, documentation gaps, or limited digital literacy.
What structural reforms are required to strengthen women’s agricultural rights?
Land rights reform: Implementation of equal inheritance laws and promotion of joint spousal land titles.
Gender-sensitive governance: Ensuring gender-responsive land registration systems and inclusion of women in resource management institutions.
Collective institutions: Strengthening women’s collectives and self-help groups to improve bargaining power and access to resources.
Policy recognition: Adopting the National Policy for Farmers definition, which recognises farmers based on agricultural activity rather than land ownership.
Data visibility: Generating gender-disaggregated agricultural data to inform policy design.
How can women farmers drive climate-resilient agriculture and food security?
Technology access: Ensuring access to climate-resilient technologies and agricultural extension services.
Knowledge empowerment: Training women farmers in sustainable farming practices and resource management.
Labour-saving tools: Adoption of drudgery-reducing technologies improves productivity and health outcomes.
Community initiatives: Promotion of kitchen gardens, women’s seed banks, and local food planning.
Institutional support: Strengthening linkages between agriculture, nutrition systems, and social protection programmes.
Conclusion
Achieving gender equality in agriculture requires recognition of women as farmers with full rights to land, resources, technology, and decision-making. Strengthening women’s agency in agri-food systems enhances agricultural productivity, improves household nutrition, and strengthens climate resilience. Integrating land reforms, nutrition policies, and institutional support can transform women farmers into central actors of sustainable rural development.
The Union Budget 2026-27 announced a Coconut Promotion Scheme focused on raising productivity through high-yielding varieties. This comes despite projections of a 1.6-2.1°C temperature rise by 2050 (up to 3.2°C by 2070), which may render large parts of peninsular India less suitable for coconut cultivation. The issue signals a shift from yield expansion to climate-resilient sustainability in plantation policy.
What is the Status of Coconut Cultivation in India?
Global Position: India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coconuts.
Productivity Levels: Per-palm productivity in India exceeds that of Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Geographical Spread: Major cultivation concentrated in Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, with expansion into Gujarat, Assam, and other non-traditional regions.
Western Coast Belt: Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and western Tamil Nadu remain core high-temperature resilience zones.
Emerging Vulnerabilities: Interior Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and parts of the east coast face projected climatic unsuitability.
Price Trend: Domestic coconut prices have remained higher than international prices since 2024, affecting competitiveness.
What Are the Major Coconut Policies and Schemes in India?
Coconut Development Board (CDB) Schemes
Replanting and Rejuvenation: Replaces senile and diseased palms.
Area Expansion: Promotes cultivation in non-traditional states.
Productivity Support: Distributes improved and hybrid seedlings.
Market Linkages: Facilitates branding and export promotion.
Coconut Promotion Scheme (2026-27)
Garden Revitalisation: Targets old and unproductive plantations.
High-Yield Varieties: Enhances productivity through improved planting material.
Coastal Expansion: Supports new plantations in coastal regions.
Technology Mission on Coconut
Integrated Approach: Covers production, processing, and marketing.
Value Addition: Supports coconut oil, desiccated coconut, and coir units.
Cluster Development Programme (NHB)
Cluster-Based Development: Strengthens aggregation, processing, and market access.
Support under National Missions
MIDH/NMSA Linkages: Provides irrigation, sustainability, and infrastructure support.
Why is Productivity-Centric Policy Inadequate for Coconut Cultivation?
Yield Plateau: India already records higher per-palm productivity than Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Further yield push offers limited marginal gains.
Price Distortion: Domestic coconut prices remain above international prices since 2024, limiting export competitiveness.
Climate Risk Escalation: Temperature rise of 1.6-2.1°C by 2050 and up to 3.2°C by 2070 increases vapour pressure deficit and drought stress.
Disease Vulnerability: Root wilt disease has devastated districts like Alappuzha and Pollachi.
Regional Unsuitability: Interior peninsular regions may become climatically unsuitable in coming decades.
How Does Climate Change Threaten Coconut Geography in India?
Temperature Sensitivity: Coconut is sensitive to heat stress during flowering and nut development stages.
Western Ghats Buffer: Current cultivation belt in Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and western Tamil Nadu benefits from moderated temperatures.
Interior Risk Zones: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Tamil Nadu show vulnerability under climate projections.
East Coast Stress: Cyclones and salinity intrusion increase risk in eastern coastal regions.
Vapour Pressure Deficit Rise: Intensifies moisture stress even when rainfall levels appear stable.
Why Must the Scheme Prioritise Climate-Resilient Varieties?
Heat-Tolerant Genotypes: Ensures long-term viability under rising temperature regimes.
Drought-Resistant Varieties: Supports survival under irregular rainfall and groundwater depletion
Disease-Resistant Strains: Reduces root wilt and pathogen vulnerability.
Regional Customisation: East coast requires climate-resilient varieties; west coast requires wilt-tolerant strains.
Research Integration: State universities and ICAR institutions possess breeding capacity for resilient genotypes.
What Structural and Institutional Failures Limit Current Schemes?
Input Subsidy Bias: Focus remains on free biological inputs rather than structural farm transformation.
Low-Quality Inputs: Distribution-based schemes often reduce soil microbial viability.
Capital Subsidy Fragmentation: Coconut Development Board (CDB) offers 25% capital subsidy for value addition, but variation across schemes causes confusion.
Implementation Gaps: Cluster Development Programme of NHB remains under-implemented due to investment barriers.
Why Are Cooperative and Cluster Models Critical?
Cooperative and Cluster Models are institutional mechanisms that aggregate farmers geographically or organisationally to enable collective production, processing, value addition, and marketing, thereby ensuring scale efficiency, bargaining power, and income stability.
Vertical Integration: Links production, value addition, and marketing.
Cooperative Precedent: Models like AMUL demonstrate scale-based efficiency and farmer ownership.
Processing Stability: Encourages long-duration procurement and price stabilisation.
Risk Sharing Mechanism: Reduces individual farmer exposure to climate and price shocks.
How Should Policy Shift from Expansion to Sustainability?
Direct Benefit Transfers: Empowers farmer-led decision-making on irrigation, soil amendments, labour.
Small Pilot Projects: Generates ground-level feedback before scaling.
Climate Mapping: Aligns plantation zones with projected climate suitability.
Integrated Funding: Aligns Coconut Promotion Scheme with Cluster Development Programme.
Institutional Voice Inclusion: Incorporates farmer consultation to reflect ground realities.
Conclusion
Productivity enhancement alone cannot secure the future of coconut cultivation under rising climate stress. Policy design must shift from input subsidies and area expansion to climate-resilient varieties, water-use efficiency, institutional integration, and cooperative value-chain development. A sustainability-centred framework is essential to ensure long-term farmer income stability and agro-ecological viability.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2017] How do subsidies affect the cropping pattern, crop diversity and economy of farmers? What is the significance of the crop insurance, minimum support price and food processing for small and marginal farmers?
Linkage: This question is relevant to GS 3 (Agriculture) as it examines how subsidies shape cropping patterns and farmer incomes, and the role of insurance, MSP, and food processing in income security. It links to the coconut policy debate by highlighting the need to shift from input subsidies to climate resilience and value-chain development.
An experimental cultivation of cassava on three acres in Malsian village, Jalandhar, has yielded promising results, signalling Punjab’s push toward crop diversification and water saving alternatives to paddy.
The initiative involved scientists from the ICAR Central Tuber Crops Research Institute and experts from Punjab Agricultural University.
What is Cassava?
Scientific name: Manihot esculenta
Native to South America
Widely cultivated in Africa and South India
Gluten free tuber crop
High starch content
India currently grows cassava mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Why Punjab is Exploring Cassava?
Water Crisis
Cassava requires nearly one tenth the water used for paddy.
Only first two months need irrigation.
Highly drought tolerant.
Climate Resilience
Tolerates dry conditions.
Tubers can remain in soil after maturity without rotting.
Suitable if sown in early March in Punjab conditions.
Economic Returns
Yield reported: about 250 quintals per acre green weight.
Estimated income: ₹2.5 to ₹2.6 lakh per acre.
Compared to wheat plus paddy: about ₹90,000 per acre.
[2025] Consider the following pairs: Plant: Description
I. Cassava: Woody shrub
II. Ginger: Herb with pseudostem
III. Malabar spinach: Herbaceous climber
IV. Mint: Annual shrub
V. Papaya: Woody shrub
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a) Only two (b) Only three (c) Only four (d) All the five
[UPSC 2017] Mention the advantages of the cultivation of pulses because of which the year 2016 was declared as the International year of Pulses by the United Nations.
Linkage: It links to the pulses debate as it highlights their nutritional, ecological, and income-support role, strengthening arguments for procurement reform and crop diversification.
Mentor’s Comment
Pulses policy reflects a structural tension between consumer price stabilization and farmer income security. Weak procurement architecture, import dependence, and trade commitments intersect with federal politics and food security imperatives.
Why in the News?
India’s pulses policy is back in focus after reports of possible import commitments under a trade deal with the United States. This appears to clash with the government’s Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, raising fresh concerns among farmers about the gap between self-reliance goals and trade decisions.
Why Are Pulses Crucial to India’s Food and Farm Economy?
Protein Dependence: Pulses supply nearly 25% of non-cereal protein intake.
Livelihood Base: Around five crore farmers depend on pulse cultivation.
Persistent Demand Gap: Production ~2.5 crore tonnes; demand ~3 crore tonnes; imports fill deficit.
Food Security Linkage: Dependence on imports exposes vulnerability to global price fluctuations.
How Do Imports Create Immediate Market Distortions?
Centralized Decision Impact: A single central decision to import can immediately lower domestic prices.
Household Spending Relief: Imports reduce consumer expenditure when supply is tight.
Farmer Income Shock: Price depression directly hurts domestic producers.
Food Security Vulnerability: Continued import dependence sustains long-term strategic risk.
Way Forward
Stronger Procurement: Expand procurement centres in pulse-growing areas to ensure MSP reaches farmers and reduce distress sales.
MSP Credibility: Ensure timely and predictable procurement to build farmer confidence and encourage investment.
Stable Import Policy: Align imports with domestic production cycles to prevent sudden price crashes.
Higher Productivity: Promote improved seeds, irrigation support, and climate-resilient varieties to raise yields.
Crop Diversification: Reduce policy bias toward rice and wheat and incentivise pulses through procurement and subsidies.
Conclusion
Pulses policy reflects the tension between consumer price stability and farmer income security. Import dependence without strong procurement weakens domestic incentives and deepens vulnerability. Long-term food security requires credible MSP implementation, higher productivity, and a trade policy aligned with self-reliance goals.
Kaladi cheese, a traditional dairy product of Jammu region, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, strengthening efforts to extend its shelf life, scale up production and promote it beyond Jammu and Kashmir using scientific interventions.
What is Kaladi
A traditional fresh cheese from the Dogra region of Jammu
Prepared mainly from cow milk
Consumed pan fried or sautéed
Integral to Dogra cuisine and local food culture
Key Challenge
Very short shelf life
Around 2 to 3 days under non refrigerated conditions
Limits long distance transport, organised retail and exports
Major bottleneck in commercial scaling and branding
Project Objectives
Extend shelf life while preserving traditional taste
Enable value addition and market expansion
Improve farmer and artisan incomes
Promote traditional foods through science based validation
Prelims Pointers
Kaladi is a fresh cheese, not aged
GI tag provides legal protection and branding
Shelf life extension is crucial for GI commercial success
GI products often require scientific standardisation for scale
[2011] With what purpose is the Government of India promoting the concept of “Mega Food Parks”?
1. To provide good infrastructure facilities for the food processing industry
2. To increase the processing of perishable items and reduce wastage
3. To provide emerging and eco-friendly food processing technologies to entrepreneurs.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
India’s rice production has reached its highest-ever level, accompanied by excess central stocks far beyond food security requirements. Rice stocks crossed 63.06 million tonnes in January 2026, nearly three times the buffer norm, signalling structural imbalance rather than temporary surplus. This marks a sharp contrast from earlier decades when production increases were aimed at eliminating shortages and stabilising prices.
How Has Rice Production Expanded Over Time?
Production Growth: Increased from 40 million tonnes in 1969-70 to 150 million tonnes in 2024-25, reflecting sustained expansion rather than episodic growth.
Area Expansion: Acreage rose from 37.67 million hectares to 51.42 million hectares, indicating reliance on area expansion in addition to yield gains.
Yield Improvement: Productivity reached 3.28 tonnes per hectare, though with wide inter-state variation.
Regional Concentration: Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal dominate output.
Why Are Central Rice Stocks Excessive?
Procurement Dominance: Nearly 56.1% of total rice procurement originates from Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
MSP Incentives: Assured MSP procurement has encouraged continuous paddy cultivation irrespective of demand.
Food Corporation of India Storage: Rice stocks stood at 63.06 million tonnes, exceeding buffer and strategic reserve norms.
Fiscal Burden: FCI storage costs exceed ₹3 per kg per year, excluding power, fertiliser, and irrigation subsidies.
What Role Does Government Policy Play in Paddy Dominance?
Minimum Support Price: MSP for common paddy pegged at ₹2,300 per quintal, ensuring price certainty.
Procurement Bias: Rice enjoys stronger procurement assurance than most alternative crops.
Power Subsidies: Free or subsidised electricity lowers irrigation costs, reinforcing paddy cultivation.
Risk Aversion: Farmers prefer paddy due to assured returns over diversified crops with uncertain markets.
Why Is Paddy Cultivation Environmentally Unsustainable?
Water Intensity: Paddy requires 3,000-5,000 litres of water per kg, stressing water resources.
Groundwater Depletion: Excessive withdrawal in Punjab has led to severe groundwater decline.
Regional Unsuitability: Paddy expansion in water-stressed states contradicts agro-climatic suitability.
Environmental Stress: Continuous monocropping degrades soil health and water tables.
Why Has Crop Diversification Not Taken Off?
Economic Risk: Alternative crops offer lower or uncertain returns compared to paddy.
Market Absence: Limited procurement and price support for pulses, oilseeds, and millets.
Institutional Inertia: Existing procurement and subsidy architecture remains rice-centric.
Behavioural Lock-in: Decades of MSP-driven cultivation patterns discourage experimentation.
What Measures Are Being Considered for Diversification?
Direct Incentives: Proposal to compensate farmers who shift away from paddy.
Income Replacement: Incentive amounts aimed at bridging the income gap from paddy cultivation.
Target Regions: Focus on states with declining groundwater and paddy over-concentration.
Strategic Shift: Emphasis on conserving water alongside nutritional security.
Conclusion
India’s rice production milestone underscores the success of assured procurement and productivity gains. However, excess stocks, rising fiscal costs, and groundwater depletion reveal structural imbalances. Sustaining food security now requires recalibrating incentives, correcting procurement bias, and aligning cropping patterns with ecological realities rather than expanding output indefinitely.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2020] What are the major factors responsible for making rice-wheat system a success? In spite of this success how has this system become bane in India?
Linkage: The rice-wheat system succeeded due to assured MSP procurement, irrigation expansion, and Green Revolution technologies, ensuring food security. However, it has become a bane due to groundwater depletion, soil stress, fiscal burden, and poor crop diversification, making it a core GS-III sustainability issue.
Mustard is India’s largest indigenous edible oil source, cultivated across nearly nine million hectares, primarily in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and West Bengal. The crop is increasingly threatened by Orobanche aegyptiaca, a root-parasitic weed that attaches to mustard roots and extracts nutrients, water, and carbon. The infestation has led to severe yield losses, stagnation in productivity, and renewed dependence on edible oil imports despite policy emphasis on self-reliance.
Why in the News
Orobanche has emerged as the number one “hidden threat” to mustard in major producing states, particularly Haryana and Rajasthan. The infestation has intensified uniformly across fields, even where no visible weed shoots appear initially. Yield losses have become severe, with farmers reporting declines from 9 quintals per acre to 6 quintals, despite normal weather and irrigation. This represents a sharp contrast to earlier years when mustard yields remained stable under similar conditions. The problem directly affects India’s strategy to curb edible oil imports, which stood at $15.9 billion in 2023-24 and $18.3 billion in 2024-25, making the issue macro-economically significant.
Why is mustard critical to India’s edible oil economy?
Dominant Indigenous Crop: Accounts for over 40 million tonnes of indigenous edible oil output in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the highest among domestic oilseeds.
Import Substitution Role: Identified as the primary crop for yield improvement to reduce 16 million tonnes of annual edible oil imports.
Farmer Dependence: Traditionally grown on three-fourths of irrigated land in parts of Haryana due to low input requirements.
What is Orobanche aegyptiaca and why is it dangerous?
Parasitic Nature: Attaches underground to mustard roots, extracting nutrients and water, causing wilting and stunted growth.
Seed Proliferation: A single plant produces 40-45 flowers, each bearing 4,000-5,000 seeds, viable for up to 20 years in soil.
Rapid Spread: Disperses through wind, water, and irrigation channels, creating dense seed banks.
Why has the infestation intensified in recent years?
Cropping Pattern Rigidity: Repeated cultivation of mustard on the same land enhances parasite density.
Irrigation Practices: First irrigation at 25-30 days after sowing creates ideal soil moisture for Orobanche germination.
Climate Suitability: Moist soils followed by underground establishment accelerate attachment to roots.
Delayed Visibility: By the time shoots emerge, yield damage is irreversible.
Why are existing herbicide options ineffective?
Non-Selective Action: Glyphosate inhibits EPSPS enzyme in both crops and weeds, preventing selective control.
Dosage Constraints: Recommended spray levels are too low for absorption by Orobanche.
Crop Damage Risk: Stronger herbicides like glufosinate, paraquat, imazapyr cannot be used on normal mustard.
Control Failure: Current chemical strategies fail to distinguish between host and parasite.
How can herbicide-resistant mustard hybrids change outcomes?
Technological Breakthrough: Introduction of imidazolinone-resistant mustard hybrid ‘Pioneer 45S42CL’.
Selective Weed Control: Enables use of imazapyr and imazapic to kill Orobanche without harming mustard.
Field Evidence: Two sprays covering two acres cost ₹3,150, significantly lower than yield losses.
Farmer Adoption: Hybrid sold in 700-gram packs with bundled herbicide, showing positive early results.
What are the long-term scientific and policy responses underway
Genetic Solutions: Development of GM mustard lines containing ‘cp4 epsps’ and double-mutant ‘als’ genes.
Resistance Spectrum: Enables tolerance to glyphosate, imidazolinones, and sulfonylureas.
Seed Bank Management: Emphasis on preventing early emergence to reduce soil seed viability.
Institutional Research: Ongoing work at the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, Delhi University.
Conclusion
The Orobanche infestation has transformed mustard cultivation from a low-risk crop into a high-uncertainty enterprise. Addressing this challenge is essential not only for farmer incomes but also for India’s edible oil security strategy. Herbicide-resistant hybrids and genetic interventions represent critical pathways to restoring productivity and reducing import dependence.
PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2017] What are the major reasons for declining rice and wheat yield in the cropping system? How crop diversification is helpful to stabilise the yield of the crops in the system?
Linkage: The rice-wheat system question reflects UPSC’s focus on yield stagnation due to monocropping and biological stress. This pattern is equally visible in mustard through Orobanche infestation. Mustard, like rice-wheat, shows that repeated cropping without diversification increases pest and weed pressure, making crop diversification critical.