logo
Investment of USD 75 bn needed for Indian farmers to adapt to climate change impact: IFAD President

Investment of USD 75 bn needed for Indian farmers to adapt to climate change impact: IFAD President

The Print6 days ago
Asked about the impact of climate change on the rural sectors, especially on small and marginal farmers, Lario said it's a key focus.
In an interview to PTI, Lario said for IFAD in India, the three big questions are, 'how do we make agriculture more remunerative for farmers, how do we enhance productivity at the same time as we're tackling a lot of the climate shocks and how do we move from food security to nutrition security.' Founded in 1977 in response to a global food crisis, IFAD is a specialised United Nations agency and an international financial institution that tackles hunger and poverty in rural communities.
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Investments worth around USD 75 billion is required for small-scale farmers in India to adapt to the impact of climate change, and bringing finance to rural areas is a critical challenge ahead for rural communities across the world and in India, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Alvaro Lario said.
'Small-scale farmers need approximately at least 75 billion US dollars to adapt to many of these climate shocks,' Lario told PTI.
According to the 10th agriculture census of 2015-16, small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land account for 86.2 per cent of all farmers in India, but own just 47.3 per cent of the farming land.
'In case of India we're seeing seasonal water scarcity, rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, so there's a lot of investments that can actually support these small-scale farmers globally. In global climate finance, what we're seeing is that these small-scale producers, hundreds of millions of rural people, are only receiving less than one per cent of the overall global climate finance,' he said.
Lario lauded schemes like 'soil health card', and said it gives farmers personalised recommendations on how they can improve their soil health, as well as incentives to adopt treat irrigation and other water-saving technologies.
'The challenges remain and we're seeing that many of the farmers are still struggling to adopt some of the climate smart practices. So still we need to continue investing, we are investing with the government at the central and state levels in India,' he said.
'For example in Maharashtra, in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, where we are bringing too many of these investments climate resilient practices that combine sustainability but also with income,' he said.
He said it's important to focus on how these small-scale farmers can continue increasing their income through crop diversification, improved water management, or micro irrigation systems, and also creating community seed banks or using drought tolerant seeds.
'All of this is really gonna have a translation into better lives and better incomes,' he said.
Lario said IFAD's priority is to mobilise financing, especially long-term financing for rural areas and deliver a long-lasting impact for those who need it most.
'We know that agriculture accounts for around 20 per cent of GDP in India and it employs around 42 per cent of the workforce. So even though there has been a lot of progress, we believe that continuing investing in pro-poor inclusive value chain and connecting small-scale producers to markets continues to be fundamental,' he said.
He also stressed on bringing private capital into the sector.
'We're also trying to bring private capital, private local companies with the government by really bringing a partnership of the public, the private, and the producers themselves. We're also adopting agro-ecological approaches that are currently supporting commercially viable and sustainable value chains so that once more the goal is to improve the income of small-scale farmers and also the resilience to shock,' he said.
Lario gave the example of Meghalaya, where IFAD has promoted and incubated a number of market-driven enterprises which are offering agri-entrepreneurs incubation, mentoring, credit, and access to markets.
In Mizoram, he said, IFAD is promoting integrated farming, bringing together crops, livestock, agroforestry, in community-led clusters.
'We're introducing weather-based crop planning which is also enabling farmers to align the sowing with the rainfall forecast thereby reducing climate risk,' he said.
He said IFAD was the first UN funded programme which received two credit ratings, and currently they're issuing bonds that are being bought by pension funds and central banks all over the world.
'We are also bringing capital and investment, especially private capital to these rural areas,' he said.
'We're currently using our own financing to co-invest with the private sector by directly investing in agri-enterprises, in local financial institutions and in value chain institutions that are very much serving small holder farmers,' he said.
Lario further said the strategy is very much aligned with the Indian government's approach and over decades.
According to IFAD, it has invested over USD 1.5 billion in India in the last 45 years, reaching over 6 million families.
'Our focus has been very much on investing in women, in tribal communities, small-scale producers and also on strengthening community institutions,' he added. PTI AO HVA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Russia Backs Pakistan's Rusting Pride – And Sends A Message To India
Russia Backs Pakistan's Rusting Pride – And Sends A Message To India

India.com

time2 hours ago

  • India.com

Russia Backs Pakistan's Rusting Pride – And Sends A Message To India

Moscow/New Delhi: In a move that is bound to stir concern in New Delhi, Russia has formally signed a new industrial cooperation agreement with Pakistan – a revival attempt of the long-defunct Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in Karachi. Described as a protocol of cooperation, the pact was signed at the Pakistani Embassy in Moscow and promises to restart and expand steel production at a facility that was once the pride of Soviet-Pakistani engineering. This deal marks a new chapter in a forgotten story – one that began more than half a century ago. Back in 1971, it was the Soviet Union that helped lay the foundation of Pakistan's largest industrial complex. Today, after decades of neglect, a trail of mounting losses and shifting political winds, Russia is circling back to finish what it once started. 'This revival, with Russia's help, is more than a business deal. It reflects our shared industrial history and a future we want to build together,' said Pakistan Prime Minister's Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan during his Moscow visit. According to Pakistan's national news agency APP, the signing ceremony also reaffirmed the 'long-standing industrial partnership' between the two nations. The objective is to bring the Karachi-based steel plant back to life and boost its output, possibly restoring thousands of lost jobs and reigniting a sector that has remained idle for far too long. Also In The Race, But Left Behind For months, China too was eyeing the same prize. When Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government decided to restart the revival efforts in 2018, it first engaged a Chinese firm for negotiations. However, the talks hit a dead end. The Chinese bid faded, but the Russians, perhaps driven by nostalgia and ownership of the project's origins, never stopped knocking. Russia insisted it was the only logical choice to resuscitate the steel plant it once designed. The Kremlin saw itself not as an outsider but as a returning builder – one who knew the bones of the structure better than anyone else. A Ruin Built From Decay And Delay Once a symbol of industrial ambition, the PSM began its steep descent in 2008. Losses piled up after a slew of politically motivated hirings, combined with the blowback of the global financial crisis. By the end of the 2008-09 fiscal year, the plant had already sunk into a deficit of nearly 17 billion Pakistani rupees. That number ballooned over the next five years, touching 118.7 billion. Even as successive governments, first under the Pakistan's People's Party and later the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), watched the unit bleed. There was no coordinated effort to stop the rot. President Pervez Musharraf's regime had once seen the plant report profits of over 9.5 billion rupees in 2007-08. A decade later, by May 31, 2018, it had sunk to a terrifying 200 billion-rupee hole. The PTI came with promises of revival. What followed was a silent bidding war between Russia and China for control of the broken machine. This new agreement finally puts Moscow in the driver's seat. The Express Tribune reports that Pakistan now hopes this Russian-backed turnaround will not only rescue an industrial dinosaur but also breathe new life into a crucial sector of its crippled economy. Russia, too, appears eager to re-establish its economic footprint in South Asia, starting with steel, in a country once deeply aligned with the United States but now visibly drifting toward Moscow and Beijing.

Whole world is building dams, but this country destroyed 300 of its dams using bombs, reason is..., not US or Russia but...
Whole world is building dams, but this country destroyed 300 of its dams using bombs, reason is..., not US or Russia but...

India.com

time4 hours ago

  • India.com

Whole world is building dams, but this country destroyed 300 of its dams using bombs, reason is..., not US or Russia but...

China dams destruction- Representative AI image China's Three Gorges Dam: In a massive development that has shocked the world, the People's Republic of China, led by President Xi Jinping has undertaken a sweeping ecological restoration project along the Chishui River in order to save and provide ecological longevity to its much-talked about Three Gorges Dam. Media reports have indicated that in a major demolition drive, China has demolishing 300 dams and decommissioning over 90% of small hydropower stations. Why China is trying to save Three Gorges Dam? The initiative is seen across the world as a step by China to save its much-talked about Three Gorges Dam which has significantly altered the natural flow of the Yangtze River, leading to disrupted fish migration, sedimentation imbalance, and declining biodiversity. Thus, by removing smaller dams in tributaries like the Chishui River, China is planning to restore natural water pulses and connectivity, benefiting the entire river basin, including the areas downstream of the Three Gorges. What is estimated cost of China's biggest dam? The dam is to be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra river makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh. As per a report by PTI news agency, the project, located in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes occur frequently is estimated to cost around USD 137 billion. Why China's biggest infra project is worrying India and Bangladesh The world's largest dam, approved by the government of China, which is stated to be the planet's biggest infra project costing USD 137 billion, on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet close to the Indian border, raising concerns in riparian states – India and Bangladesh, due to its massive nature. According to an official statement quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government has approved the construction of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra. However, China recently claimed that the planned project has gone through rigorous scientific verification and will not have any negative impact on downstream countries — India and Bangladesh. (With inputs from agencies)

Wage hikes a priority for TCS; focus on growth with profitability: CFO
Wage hikes a priority for TCS; focus on growth with profitability: CFO

Economic Times

time4 hours ago

  • Economic Times

Wage hikes a priority for TCS; focus on growth with profitability: CFO

Agencies Delivering wage hikes for its over 6 lakh employees is a "priority" for TCS, the country's largest IT services company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Samir Seksaria has said. Speaking to PTI, after the release of the June quarter results, where the business witnessed headwinds on growth and margins, Seksaria made it clear that TCS will focus on growth with profitability. The company showed a 6 per cent increase in net on non-core income as demand got impacted due to macroeconomic and geopolitical troubles, and deferred its annual wage hikes that typically set in from April. Stating that TCS has rarely resorted to deferring wage hikes unlike peers, Seksaria said, "My priority is getting back to the wage hike." He, however, did not specify when the hikes will be delivered. Typically, the annual wage hikes crimp the operating profit margin by over 1.50 per cent, Seksaria said. It reported a 0.20 per cent narrowing in the number at 24.5 per cent for the June quarter, but Seksaria stressed that the intent is to push the margins up into the 26-28 per cent aspirational range. Seksaria explained that investments in upfront hiring to capture demand as it comes in hurt the margins, as lack of demand pulled down utilisation levels. As the company looks to widen the margins, it is grappling with a set of controllable and uncontrollable factors, Seksaria said, pointing out that upping the utilisation and other organisational tweaks are the controllables, while demand is the uncontrollable. "...demand recovery plus optimisation, we have to focus on both. If demand recovery is prolonged, we will double down on optimisation," he said. "Our focus will be growth with profitability. Only profitability without growth doesn't help," he said, adding that this should not be taken as the company giving up on demand. With attrition reaching some bit of concerning levels at 13.8 per cent, Seksaria said the focus will be to retain top talent as it is difficult to build by fresh hiring, and added that some bit of attrition is healthy and it may not take so many measures to retain some part of the talent. Given the fact that the company has capacity now, it may go slow on lateral hiring and restart once demand spurs up. The company does not plan to cut investments but there could be some realignment like building only a part of a structure on a plot, Seksaria said. TCS will not do acquisitions just for expanding the topline, but it will be capabilities that will drive such inorganic moves, Seksaria said, adding that it keeps looking at opportunities in the market. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Markets need to see more than profits from Oyo As GenAI puts traditional BPO on life support, survival demands a makeover Is gold always the best bet? Think again Why this one from 'Dirty Dozen', now in Vedanta fold, is again in a mess Can Indian IT protect its high valuation as AI takes centre stage? F&O Radar| Deploy Bull Call Spread in Nifty for gains from volatility amid uptrend Aggressive? Yes, but better for investors with a risk appetite: 6 small private bank stocks with upside potential up to 36% in 1 year In mid-caps, 'just hold' often creates wealth: 10 mid-cap stocks from different sectors with upside potential up to 44%

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store