The government said over four crore trees have been planted in nearly 94,000 hectares with an expenditure of ₹149 crore during last five years under the ‘Har Medh Par Ped’ scheme.
The scheme is being implemented in 23 States and Union Territories that have liberalised felling and transit-regulations to encourage tree plantation on boundaries of the farm land. Farmers get additional income and it will make farming system more climate resilient, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Between 2016-17 and 2020-21, 808 nurseries have been established, 93,809.27 hectares area has been covered with plantation of 4.02 crore trees, Tomar said.
Impact on yields
In another reply, the minister said that yields of rainfed and irrigated rice, wheat and kharif maize are likely to be reduced under projected climate change scenarios if any adaptation measures are not taken. The government is addressing the risk associated with climate change by devising appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies ensuring food security in the country under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), he said.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under network project ‘National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)’ conducts strategic research, technology demonstration and capacity building to address impact of climate change on agriculture and agro-based commodities, Tomar said.
ICAR has demonstrated climate resilient technologies namely drought tolerant short duration varieties, crop diversification, integrated farming systems, soil and water conservation measures in most vulnerable districts in the country to minimise impact of climate change.