Maha govt inks pact for capacity building of farmers to tackle climate change

Mumbai, Sep 8 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has collaborated with the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) and its research arm for capacity building of farmers to address issues of water scarcity and agricultural vulnerability.

The state's Department of Environment and Climate Change signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in July with WOTR and WOTR Centre for Resilient Studies (W-CReS) to integrate Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into a policy and programmatic framework, according to a statement issued on Monday.

This collaboration will embed ecosystem services in planning, involve communities in co-creating solutions, build capacities of farmers, and strengthen institutions to tackle climate risks.

Maharashtra, home to over 112 million people, is heavily dependent on agriculture, employing nearly half the workforce and contributing 11 per cent of the state's GDP. Yet, with vast drought-prone areas and increasingly erratic rainfall, water scarcity and crop losses pose growing threats.

"EbA should become the bedrock of public policy. Sustainability is the lens through which all our developmental projects, schemes, and programmes should be viewed and analysed. By working with WOTR and W-CReS, we aim to embed resilience into every layer of Maharashtra's development agenda and action.

"This collaboration will ensure that vulnerable communities are better prepared for droughts, floods, and other climate shocks," said Abhijit Ghorpade, Director, State Climate Action Cell, Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Ecosystem-based Adaptation must become the backbone of Maharashtra's development journey, and only by undertaking adaptive and risk-mitigating action and weaving nature into policy and practice, can the state build climate resilience and secure both incomes and biodiversity for the future, added Marcella D'Souza, Director, W-CReS. PTI SM NSK