Impact of Climate Change on Tuber Crops Production and Mitigation Strategies

Abstract

Indian agriculture has made quick progress toward reaching food self-sufficiency. Horticulture has become the finest alternative for diversification in order to address the needs for food, nutrition, and healthcare in addition to offering better returns on farmland and improved employment opportunities. With little investment in horticulture, India has become the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, increasing production, productivity, and export. Interventions made by technology and development activities are responsible for this shifting environment. The problems we face today, nevertheless, are considerably more serious than they were in the past, and they must be resolved strategically while harnessing advances in science and technology. Our effectiveness in addressing difficulties that might require investment and coordinated efforts made in an integrated manner is attested to by our past accomplishments. By the year 2050, it is predicted that the world’s food demand will have doubled, and research to boost agricultural productivity has been hailed as the solution to feeding an expanding global population. Although cereal crops have historically been the primary and preferred food source in many nations, they are currently under a tremendous deal of strain to meet the growing demand due to climate change, deficient soil conditions, and an increase in disease and insect incidences. The greatest cereal substitute for now is a tuberous root crop like cassava since it can withstand extended periods of drought, disease, and pest pressure while still providing the poor agricultural communities with profitable yields. Because of these qualities, cassava is a crucial crop for ensuring food security in Africa. A progressive change in the existing state of the climate over a few decades is referred to as climate change; for instance, the Sahara used to have a rainy climate and now has a dry one. Human activity alters the global composition of the atmosphere as well as the natural climate fluctuation found over comparable time periods responsible for climate change. Unpredictable rainfall that starts early or late, poor rainfall distribution, and little rainfall are some of the changes. Extremes of too hot or too cold are present as well as moderate and too hot or too cold temperatures. Climate change, in general, refers to long-term modifications in global weather patterns including temperature increases over time, variations in rainfall, and storm activity that may result from greenhouse effects and ongoing deforestation. The term “climate change” is now only used to describe alterations to the current climate, specifically the increase in the global average superficial temperature. Obviously, the climate is continually changing, and the signal that these changes are taking place can be assessed on a variety of temporal and spatial dimensions. Climate can be thought of as the combination of intricate weather patterns that have been averaged over a sizable portion of the planet and described in terms of both the mean of weather and attributes.