Climate Change and Global Crop Production

Abstract

Climate has a substantial impact on human health, livelihood, food, and infrastructure. However, rapid shifts in climatic conditions threaten the survival of all living creatures. The current abnormalities in precipitation and temperature are leading to nonprofitable agricultural production, food insecurity, and depletion of natural genetic resources. The changing trends towards diversified diets have posed greater challenges for producers in meeting the consumers’ demands, necessitating a consistent and reliable food supply. Unfortunately, the current scenario of climatic variation has made it hard to put enough food on the table. Because of flooding, droughts, and salinity stress, a large number of staple crops and their by-products get wasted. Similarly, low production of cash crops also lowers the import–export values and affects the national economy. A few preventive measures could be taken to address the challenges of climatic irregularities. Examples include the use of elite genotypes, changing harvest dates, sowing either late or early, and cultivating new crops rather than just the usual ones. It is compulsory to test, validate, and devise a climate-resilient crop** system. In contrast, growers must participate in different activities to determine adoption-related barriers and generate alternative options. These approaches will minimize insect pest infestation, prevent diseases, improve soil fertility, increase water use efficiency, and, above all, help in develo** defense mechanisms against climate change. The yields of major crops have been declining, so efforts have been put into converting marginal lands into agricultural lands to compensate for this. However, this practice ultimately degrades the land and threatens the existence of biodiversity in both domestic and wild species. This could affect future attempts to address climate risk. Recently, efforts have been made to improve the operating system at farms by modifying the percentage of pesticide and fertilizer usage, their method of application (foliar/ground), the introduction of the sprinkler irrigation technique, and the use of certified seeds to improve both plant growth and soil fertility. By adhering to these practices, farmers are ho** to be able to deal with climatic variations in a significantly more effective manner. In addition, decision-makers establishing appropriate policies and interventions for climate-smart agricultural production approaches and methods must carefully examine the macroeconomic, social, and ecological interventions. At the same time, policies that encourage unsustainable production and aggravate environmental issues must also be abolished. Moreover, more funding for research, notably action research, is required to deal with forthcoming climate-related threats.