Assam Agriculture Department and AAU Unite to Combat Climate Change Impact on Farming

Guwahati: The state Agriculture Department and Assam Agriculture University (AAU) have decided to combine forces in a bid to jointly combat the effects wrought by climate change on the state's agriculture sector. The decision follows an instruction from the state government after it was found that global climate change has greatly impacted the country's agriculture, and its impact has been felt more in Assam.

AAU has already introduced drought-and flood-tolerant strains of paddy, and the Agriculture Department has applied them in drought-prone areas of Nagaon district and flood-prone areas of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts. However, the government feels that the measures taken till now are not enough in light of the increased impact of climate change on agriculture in the state. It has also been noticed that there have been vast changes in temperature and the rainfall pattern in the state in recent times. Moreover, changes in the beginning of the flood season in the state have been noticed of late, with the floods in the state starting by the end of April or May instead of June or July earlier.

On Wednesday, a review meeting was held in the state secretariat in Dispur with Agriculture Minister Atul Bora as chairperson, and a discussion on climate change and its impact on the state's agriculture sector was held. During the discussion, the minister said that the impact of climate change is only going to get worse and instructed the Agriculture Department and AAU to join hands and study the means of lessening its impact on the state's agriculture sector.

Sources said a joint meeting of the scientists in AAU and the officials of the Agriculture Department will be held soon, and the feedback received from farmers on the impact of climate change on their crops will be shared by the department. On the other hand, the AAU scientists are also set to share the knowledge gained through their research on climate change and its effect on agriculture. They are also set to discuss the way forward in jointly tackling the menace.

Talking to The Sentinel on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said, "Climate change is already affecting production in the state's agriculture sector. We have to devise the means to minimize the impact of climate change by working together with the AAU, which has been researching in this field."

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