Syllabus
Theory
Climate change and impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security; crop productivity under different climate change scenarios including extreme events such as drought, flood, pest and disease outbreak etc. Basics of adaption and mitigation in the agricultural sectors; analyzing and assessing climate vulnerability to identify vulnerable sectors and possible adaptation options in agriculture; assessing biophysical and socio-economic impacts on agricultural sector; risk assessment strategies, preparedness for weather and climate risks in agriculture; application of geospatial tools and techniques for sustainable agriculture. Climate resilient agriculture (CRA) – concept, scope and importance with special reference to India, climate resilient technologies for enhancing crop productivity and sustainability – role of weather and climatic information, agro advisories, ICTs and simulation models; climate resilient agronomic practices – crop/cultivar selection, crop diversification/ crop mixtures; water management practices – rain water harvesting, micro-irrigation, deficit irrigation and drainage management, organic/natural farming, integrated farming systems (IFS); site specific nutrient management (SSNM), conservation agriculture technologies to build soil organic carbon, harnessing microbial biodiversity, biomass recycling; use of renewable sources of energy; climate resilient pest-disease management strategies. Breeding strategies for development of climate change resilient crops and varieties, development of biotic and abiotic stress tolerant/resistant cultivars under changed climatic scenarios including extreme weather events.
Practical
Acquaintance with meteorological instruments including AWS, Statistical techniques to study trend of climatic parameters, Analysis of extreme weather events using non-parametric tests, Building climate change scenarios under different futuristic emission of GHGs, Designing strategies to mitigate the effect of climate change using climate resilient crops/cultivars, Climate resilient technologies and manipulation of cropping patterns, Acquaintance with ICTs for effective dissemination of local weather information and agro-advisories, Analysing carbon sequestration potential of different agro-ecosystems; Designing climate smart village model considering the availability of resources. Awareness programme on climate change and climate resilient agriculture among farming community.