8.56         ndian      onom
     been taken to ensure mainstreaming of women in        agricultural strategies suitable to their local
     agriculture sector:                                   conditions. The CSA aims to tackle three main
               Earmarking at least 30 per cent of the      objectives—
               budget allocation for women beneficiaries        (i) Sustainably      increasing     agricultural
               in all ongoing schemes and programmes.               productivity and incomes;
               Initiating women centric activities.            (ii) Adapting and building resilience to
               Focus on women self-help group (SHG)                 climate change; and
               by delivering micro-credit and right           (iii) Reducing and/or removing greenhouse
               information together with involving                  gas emissions wherever possible.
               them in the decision-making bodies.              Though, this new concept is at a nascent
               Recognising the critical role of women in   stage in India, the Government has already
               agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture    started taking policy initiatives in this direction.
               and Farmers Welfare has declared 15th       At present, climate resilient technologies are
               October of every year as Women Farmer’s     being demonstrated in 153 model villages
               Day.                                        under KVK (Kisan Vikas Kendra) covering 23
          Indian farm sector needs a gender specific       states under National Innovations on Climate
     policy framework to adjust with the existing and      Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). In addition, 623
     emerging realities in the sector. Such a nuanced      contingency plans have been prepared to manage
     policy intervention will not only enhance food        various weather aberrations such as droughts,
     security but promote gender equality, extension       floods, cyclones, hailstorms, heat and cold waves.
     services, sustainability and all-round development
     in the rural areas.                                      looKInG AHeAd
                                                           Though the share of agriculture and allied sector
        clImAte smArt AGrIculture                          in gross value added (GVA) is on decline, the
     Climate change can impact the farm sector             latest Economic Survey 2017-18 suggests that in
     in different ways—increased variability in            the process of inclusive growth in the country, the
     temperature, rainfall, extreme weather events like    sector will remain an engine of broad based growth.
     drought and flood. These incidences ultimately        This will not only reduce inequalities and poverty
     hit the farm community in a very negative way.        but will also strengthen food security.
     To fight out these uncertainties development of            At present, the agriculture sector of the
     a climate resilient agro-system is the need of the    country is experiencing structural changes which
     hour.                                                 are opening up new challenges and opportunities.
          It is in this backdrop that the new concept of   The initiatives taken by the Government in
     Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged.83        this regard are multi-dimensional and oriented
     It is an approach that helps to guide actions         towards transforming the sector—
     needed “to transform and reorient agricultural                 Agricultural marketing
     systems to effectively support development and                 Initiation of technology
     ensure food security under changing climate”. It               Adoption of Direct Benefit Transfer
     aims to provide stakeholders the means to identify             (DBT) mode for timely delivery of
       83.   Economic Survey 2017-18, Vol. 2, pp. 113-114,          extension services, credit and other inputs
             Ministry of Finance, GoI, N. Delhi.                    to small and marginal farmers.