Why is it in the news?

• A recent report titled “The Unjust Climate: Measuring the Impacts of Climate Change on Rural Poor, Women, and Youth”, by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasizes the significant impact of climate change on India’s farming population, particularly among impoverished households.
• It reveals that poor households worldwide suffer an average income loss of 5% annually due to heat stress and 4.4% from floods, in contrast to their wealthier counterparts.

More about the news

• The report highlights that rural poor households in India experience substantial declines in on-farm income due to various climate stressors. During droughts and similar events, these households often allocate more time and resources to agriculture, as off-farm employment opportunities diminish.
• As a result, their overall income decreases compared to families unaffected by climate stressors. The report attributes this vulnerability to structural inequalities and calls on the government to expand the social safety net.
• To address these challenges, the report advocates for scaling up anticipatory social protection programs to assist more beneficiaries in preparation for extreme weather events.
• It stresses that providing effective livelihood support before such occurrences can reduce reliance on harmful coping strategies and prevent more individuals from falling into poverty.
• Furthermore, it recommends improving workforce diversification and enhancing off-farm employment opportunities while addressing gender-related barriers in non-farm employment.
• In response to the findings, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand noted that India is actively tackling climate change. He highlighted the implementation of the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) program, designed to address climate challenges across all crops.
• Chand also pointed to contingency plans for agricultural districts and the country’s pioneering employment guarantee scheme as vital components of the social safety net.