amna: As India takes on the
title of the world's most
populous nation, one question
that looms ever larger, thanks
to climate change, is how to
feed 1.4 billion people.
Small scale farming families,
who account for the majority of
India's people, complain of
crops withering under record
high temperatures, cycles of
drought and extreme rainfall,
and pest infestations.
Fred de Sam Lazaro has our
report from southern India.
It's produced in partnership
with the pulitzer center and
part of Fred's series, "Agents
for change."
Fred: The consultation is
usually brief with a quick
diagnosis and prescription for a
new insecticide spray.
This clinic is one of several
so-called
village knowledge
centers set up by a nonprofit.
>> We used to have pests, but
now the quantity or number we
have to deal with is much higher
-- higher.
Fred: Like most small scale
family farmers, K. Subramanyan
doesn't have irrigation systems,
relies entirely on rainfall and
must deal with increasingly
unpredictable weather
conditions.
>> In the past we had clear
seasons.
Now there is too much rain.
Fred it's been unseasonably hot
: In March and April, which he
worries will add stress on the
crop.
But to protect his verdant paddy
field from pests, it's ringed
with rows of unrelated species
to repel bugs -- like lentils --
an approach he learned after
consulting with the swaminathan
foundation, where veteran
scientist G.N. Hariharan is a
leader.
>> It is a two way process. So
by listening to them or sitting
with them, we can understand
where exactly the issues are.
The goal, he says, is to help
fredthe goal, he says, is to
help farmers adopt sustainable
: Practices and develop hardier
crops.
One example: Cultivating more
saline-tolerant species of rice,
a key staple crop in a country
with 4600 miles of coastline.
>> When sea level is increasing,
most of our production system
around the coastline across the
globe are going to get inundated
with seawater, and after that,
the area will be salinized and
our normal crops cannot be grown
.
>> The foundation has focused on
resilience and adaptation.
We know already there are
changes that cannot be reversed.
And therefore there has to be
adaptation.
Fred: Dr. Soumya swaminathan is
a pediatrician and, until
recently, the world health
organization's chief scientist
during the pandemic.
She now chairs the foundation
set up and named after her
father.
>> The whole aim was to really
take science to society.
Fred nearly 60 years ago, M.S
: Swaminathan used science to
launch India's so-called green
revolution.
It transformed India into one of
the world's leading producers of
major crops, like wheat and
rice.
However, the widespread use,
most experts say overuse, of
synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides has degraded soil
quality.
That's pushed farmers to use
even more chemicals to sustain
productivity and contain
disease.
Climate change has further
aggravated the problem.
Soumya swaminathan says the
challenge now is to bring a
balanced approach to India's
food production.
>> Keeping in mind that you have
to feed 1.4 billion people.
So the changes cannot be done in
a way that compromises food
production and the self
sufficiency that we have today.
Fred the foundation's approach
: Is to get critical information
to farmers, sending audio text
messages with meteorological
data to help inform what crops
or seed varieties to plant and
the best time to plant.
And how to diversify crops for
income and improved nutrition,
adding protein and vegetables.
>> Today everyone has a mobile
phone in their hands.
We have artificial intelligence,
for example, that offers a lot
of potential.
How do we see that those
actually benefit particularly
the most small and marginalized
farmers?
Fred: Arjunan jayaraman says he
has benefited -- he grows okra
alongside the family's rice
fields and for years tried to
control pests with chemical
products today, he has an
.
Today, he has anorganic
approach.
The crop is robust, protected,
it turns out, by marigolds and
sunflowers, flowers that take
the brunt of a pest that attacks
the okra.
And now he has his own beehives.
>> When I was using inorganic
methods of farming, the honeybee
population declined because we
used more pesticides.
Fred: Experts say the key
challenge is to adapt and scale
up such models across a vast
nation with widely varied
landscapes, soils, social mores
, and unpredictable weather.
>> It is a real concern.
Fred abhishek Jain is with the
: Delhi-based council on energy,
environment, and water.
>> Almost eight in 10 Indians
are living in districts which
are going to be climate
vulnerable.
Areas which were traditionally
flood prone are becoming drought
prone, and areas which were
traditionally drought prone are
becoming flood prone.
Almost 40% of Indian districts
are showing the swapping trend.
Fred: Exacerbating the
challenges for the agricultural
sector, a lack of workers.
To create employment for India's
growing youthful population, the
government has emphasized
manufacturing, trying to lure
multinational companies to build
their factories in India.
That's likely to accelerate the
urbanization of this country,
with profound impacts on rural,
agricultural communities.
Arjunan jayaraman says farming
is becoming increasingly lonely
and devalued today.
>> We used to have plenty of
people to work because in the
home, the mother, the father,
the child, all the siblings,
they worked in the field.
But today, they are going
outside, working at companies.
Fred: Dr. Swaminathan says rural
prosperity will be critical to
India's future food security.
>> Young people growing up in
rural areas, perhaps in
agricultural families, they need
to see hope in pursuing an
agricultural profession.
But at the same time, they also
have good physical and mental
quality of life.
Fred: That will require
agriculture based industries,
like food processing, which in
turn require hefty investment in
better infrastructure, storage
facilities, roads and schools in
rural areas.
And, in a rapidly urbanizing
country, jayaraman says he hopes
people become more aware of
where its food comes from,
returning the traditional
reverence he was raised with for
farm work.
He cites a tamil proverb: "If
you don't have mud on your feet,
you won't see food on your
plate."
For the "Pbs newshour," I'm Fred
de Sam Lazaro in pudicherry,
India.
Amna: A reminder, Fred's
reporting is in partnership with
the under told story -- stories