India needs to grow a lot more food, and do it sustainably to be able to meet its future food security and also keep its climate commitments. Precision farming is still nascent in the country, but could offer a way forward.
Sustainable agriculture practices are the key to achieving India's climate commitments without compromising on the nation's food security goals. Despite being a leader in agricultural production, India's yields are lower than in other major agri-nations — the United States, China, and Brazil. This is attributable to climatic uncertainties, improper practices, excess pressure on resources, supply chain inadequacies, and other factors. Further, current conventional farming approaches are intensive in their use of energy, water and labour. What is needed instead is a more technology-driven, resource-efficient, and risk-free approach.
Arjun Shanker is a co-author of this article.
