institutional and economic factors; and their interactions. This means there is a correspondingly large array of possible adaptation options (Howden 2007).
1.1 Agriculture—Present Status
Odisha, bestowed with vast natural endowments is predominantly an agrarian state.
Agriculture is the mainstay of state’s economy and substance of life of its people.
Agriculture and allied sectors contribute about 15.58 % of the gross state domestic
product (GSDP) and continue to be the backbone of the state’s rural economy. It
provides employment, both direct and indirect, to about 60 % of the total workforce.
Therefore, the economic advancement of the state depends to a large extent on
development of the agriculture and allied sector. The rate of increasing production
and growing need have, therefore, been in balance over the past four decades. The
impressive gains in food production are a consequence of several factors. For one,
some marginal land, formerly unused or underused for agriculture has been taken up
for cultivation. There is very little of this resource available for future expansion and
converting land such as that which supports tropical rain forests into farmland can
have serious environmental consequences for the Earth as a whole. Furthermore, the
soils that support this lush and varied growth are also not suitable for agriculture
unless supplemented by major inputs of fertilizers (particularly phosphate fertilizers)
and other amendments to modify their physical and chemical properties. The principal reason for the impressive gains in food production, however, has been the
introduction of new varieties of grains and the associated management practices that
accompany the new strains. A major component of this so-called ‘green revolution’
has been the requirement for a package of inputs beginning not only with the new
seeds but also including an assured supply of water and adequate plant nutrition
(usually supplied via inorganic chemical fertilizer and methods of pest control, again
usually involving synthetic chemicals). Degradation of good agricultural land,
conversion of forest and other unique habitats to agriculture and reliance on chemicals and other non-renewable inputs in the long term could have a negative impact on
food security and on rural life in general. Even today, there is growing evidence that
current practices are problematic in terms of long-term sustainability. The list
agriculture-based environmental problems is a long one: loss of biodiversity and
destruction of natural habitats, over-consumption of surface water and ground water,
contamination of soil and water by organic biocides, nutrient-induced eutrophication
of water bodies, microbial and nitrate contamination of drinking water supplies and
release of excessive quantities of the green house gases such as carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide associated with specific agricultural practices.
The economic element of agriculture relates to individuals as well as to the local
community and the broader national society. In being a producer of food, each farm
caries out agriculture, first of all, in order to be able to provide the physical needs of
his/her own family, and paramount among these is the need for food. If the system
Climate Change and Natural Capital …
263
1.1 Agriculture—Present Status
Odisha, bestowed with vast natural endowments is predominantly an agrarian state.
Agriculture is the mainstay of state’s economy and substance of life of its people.
Agriculture and allied sectors contribute about 15.58 % of the gross state domestic
product (GSDP) and continue to be the backbone of the state’s rural economy. It
provides employment, both direct and indirect, to about 60 % of the total workforce.
Therefore, the economic advancement of the state depends to a large extent on
development of the agriculture and allied sector. The rate of increasing production
and growing need have, therefore, been in balance over the past four decades. The
impressive gains in food production are a consequence of several factors. For one,
some marginal land, formerly unused or underused for agriculture has been taken up
for cultivation. There is very little of this resource available for future expansion and
converting land such as that which supports tropical rain forests into farmland can
have serious environmental consequences for the Earth as a whole. Furthermore, the
soils that support this lush and varied growth are also not suitable for agriculture
unless supplemented by major inputs of fertilizers (particularly phosphate fertilizers)
and other amendments to modify their physical and chemical properties. The principal reason for the impressive gains in food production, however, has been the
introduction of new varieties of grains and the associated management practices that
accompany the new strains. A major component of this so-called ‘green revolution’
has been the requirement for a package of inputs beginning not only with the new
seeds but also including an assured supply of water and adequate plant nutrition
(usually supplied via inorganic chemical fertilizer and methods of pest control, again
usually involving synthetic chemicals). Degradation of good agricultural land,
conversion of forest and other unique habitats to agriculture and reliance on chemicals and other non-renewable inputs in the long term could have a negative impact on
food security and on rural life in general. Even today, there is growing evidence that
current practices are problematic in terms of long-term sustainability. The list
agriculture-based environmental problems is a long one: loss of biodiversity and
destruction of natural habitats, over-consumption of surface water and ground water,
contamination of soil and water by organic biocides, nutrient-induced eutrophication
of water bodies, microbial and nitrate contamination of drinking water supplies and
release of excessive quantities of the green house gases such as carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide associated with specific agricultural practices.
The economic element of agriculture relates to individuals as well as to the local
community and the broader national society. In being a producer of food, each farm
caries out agriculture, first of all, in order to be able to provide the physical needs of
his/her own family, and paramount among these is the need for food. If the system
Climate Change and Natural Capital …
263