Climate and Agriculture

Agriculture is the most primary occupation of human beings and marks the beginning
of their sedentary life. Prior to agriculture, human beings spent a nomadic life
wandering about from one place to another and practised hunting and food gathering
for their sustenance. Climatic elements like temperature, humidity, precipitation et c.
determines the type of crops that are grown in a particular area and also determines
their distribution at places having similar climatic conditions. It also determines the
farming practices.
Today in the technological era, a lot of advances have been made in the field of
agriculture and it has been possible to grow crops in quite adverse conditions.
However, the impact of climate cannot be ignored. Take for example, temperature,
which acts as one of the major climatic parameter and affects the crops at different
successive stages of their development right from sowing and germination to their
maturity. An optimum temperature is required at every stages of development of
crops, otherwise the quality and yield of crops are affected. For example, in India, a
sudden increase in temperature from the beginning of March speeds up the ripening of
wheat which also reduces its yield. Similarly, frosts and hailstorms are also very
dangerous for crops. Frosts are responsible for damaging certain crops like potatoes,
tomatoes, oil seeds, peas et c. In the same way, fruit orchards in the mountain valleys
are also damaged due to frosts which results due to temperature inversion. Hailstorms
associated with western disturbances, also pose a serious threat to the standing crops
of wheat, vegetables, oilseeds and other rabi (winter) crops.
Moisture is another important climatic parameter that affects the cultivation of crops.
As plants derive their nutrients from the soil, so soil moisture is very important for
plants. The amount of soil moisture varies from being in saturated stage to field
capacity stage to wilting stage. Saturated stage refers to the stage when all voids and
pores of soil are filled with water and such conditions are preferred by crops like
paddy/rice and sugar cane which are water intensive crops. In field capacity stage
about 50% of the total voids and pore spaces are filled with water and the rest is
occupied by air. Such a soil condition is favourable for millets, maize, wheat, mustard
seeds, et c. Lastly the wilting stage, as the name suggests refers to the stage when soil
water is lost through continuous evaporation and the crop wilts. So such type of soil is
not conducive for any crops.
DROUGHT
Apart from soil moisture, atmospheric moisture and precipitation also affects
agricultural productivity. Lack of moisture results in drought. There are normally
three types of droughts resulting from rainfall deficiency. First is the permanent
drought which is a characteristic of arid regions. Second is the seasonal drought
which is associated with two distinct periods of wet and dry seasons and the third is
the occasional drought which is associated with rainfall variability.
A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal
precipitation. It is a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time,
resulting in a water shortage. The lack of adequate precipitation, can cause reduced
soil moisture/ groundwater, diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a general
water shortage. The effects of this deficiency are often called drought impacts.
Natural impacts of drought can be made even worse by the demand that humans place
on a water supply.
Types of drought
Research in the early 1980s uncovered more than 150 published definitions of
drought. The definitions reflect differences in regions, needs, and disciplinary
approaches. Wilhite and Glantz categorized the definitions in terms of four basic
approaches to measuring drought: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural,
and socio-economic. The first three approaches deal with ways to measure drought as
a physical phenomenon. The last deals with drought in terms of supply and demand,
tracking the effects of water shortfall as it ripples through socio-economic systems.
Drought as a natural hazard is the cumulative effect over time of deficient
precipitation and water supply that is followed by a trail of impacts that occur on
varying time and space scales. Climatologically, drought has four types:
1) meteorological drought,
2) hydrological drought,
3) agricultural drought, and
4) Socio-economic drought.
 (Source: NDMC)

Characteristics of Drought
Definable characteristics of drought include intensity, duration, spatial extent, and
timing. Intensity commonly refers to the magnitude of the precipitation deficit and
how quickly it develops. History shows us that each drought is unique, but common
features of the most severe droughts include long duration, and large moisture deficits
with a large areal extent, particularly during a climatological wet season. These are
the droughts with the most far-reaching human and ecological impacts.
Kenya is a drought-prone country, primarily because of its peculiar eco-climatic
conditions. Although dissected by the equator in its southern half, Kenya contains
only a few pockets of high and regular rainfall (>2000mm). Arid and semi-arid lands
(ASALs) cover 80% of the territory.
Desertification; is the process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-
humid areas as a result of various climatic and human factors. It is the process by
which vegetation in drylands (i.e. arid and semi-arid lands, such as grasslands or
shrub lands,) decreases and eventually disappears. The concept does not refer to the
physical expansion of existing deserts, but to the various processes that threaten to
turn currently non-desert ecosystems into deserts.

Human activities, including deforestation and the overexploitation of aquifers,

accelerate desertification. The effects of climate change, which is also driven by
humans, and the destruction it causes in the form of extreme weather phenomena such
as droughts, hurricanes, fires, et c. must be added to this.

According to the UN, more than 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil disappear every
year. In fact, today two-thirds of the Earth is undergoing a process of
desertification and, if no action is taken, 1.5 million km 2 of agricultural land, an area
equivalent to the entire arable land of Africa, which is essential for
maintaining biodiversity and feeding the population, will be lost by 2050.

Desertification and desertisation:

Although they are often used interchangeably, the difference lies in the human
influence on the process. In desertisation, the causes of deterioration are strictly
natural, as in the case of the Sahara, but in desertification, although natural causes
also play a role, human activities are a determining factor.

Causes of desertification

The main human activities driving desertification are:

1, Deforestation, causes of which go beyond tree felling, which increases the risk of
fires, among others.

2, Poor agricultural practices, from not rotating crops to unprotected soils or chemical
fertiliser and pesticide use, et c.

3, Over exploitation of natural resources as a consequence of irresponsible

management of vegetation or water.

4, Bad livestock practices, such as overgrazing, which severely erode the land and
prevent the regeneration of vegetation.
Consequences of desertification
Drylands cover about half of the earth's ice-free land surface and many of them
belong to the world's poorest countries, which exacerbates the consequences:

1, Loss of biodiversity by worsening the living conditions of many species.

2, Food insecurity due to crop failure or reduced yields.

3, The loss of vegetation cover and therefore of food for livestock and humans.

4, Increased risk of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19.

5, Loss of forest cover, with a corresponding shortage of wood resources.

6, The decrease in drinking water reserves due to the loss of aquifers.

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the lives of

250 million people are already affected by desertification and up to 135 million could
be displaced (climate migrations) by desertification by 2045, making it one of the
most serious environmental problems facing humanity.

How to avoid desertification

Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN is SDG 15
(Life of terrestrial ecosystems), which aims to protect, restore and promote the
sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, stop and reverse
land degradation, combat desertification and stop biodiversity loss.

The solution at the local level to curb desertification is sustainable management of

natural resources, especially the conservation of fertile soils and water resources. In
this sense, some of the keys that can help to avoid desertification are:

 Promote coordinated land-use planning, including the management of water

resources, livestock and agricultural activities.
 Preserve vegetation cover, which plays a key role in protecting the soil from
wind and water erosion, by building barriers and stabilising dunes.
 Promote climate change education to raise awareness, in particular by showing
the consequences of desertification and ways to prevent it.
 Focus on organic farming and sustainable practices, such as cover crops or
rotational crops, which prevent soil erosion and drought.
  Commit to reforestation to regenerate vegetation cover, reactivate moisture
circulation and generate biodiversity.
 Encourage rotational grazing, which limits pressure to a particular area while
others regenerate, through co-existence with crops that allow more efficient
nutrient cycling.

Watch the following documentary about GOBI desert and its people
https://youtu.be/Zk971vqPgJA