Climate Change and Measures to Mitigate its Effects in Crop Production: Review Paper

Abstract

Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, increasing average temperature, change in rainfall amount and patterns and extreme events are the major factors which pose negative impact on crop production. Climate change also affects the availability of water resources and the distribution of agricultural pests and diseases. The emission of atmospheric greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor etc. from industries and agricultural sector are contributing to the global warming. For example, higher temperatures eventually reduce yields of desirable crops while encouraging weed and pest proliferation. Changes in precipitation patterns also increase the likelihood of short-run crop failures and long-run production declines. Therefore, effective mitigation measures such as carbon sequestration and on-farm reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are very crucial to minimize the negative impacts of climate changes on crop production in future.

Key words: Climate change, Global warming, Greenhouse gas, Mitigation