India is facing a water and food crisis, exacerbated by extreme climate cycles such as the current heatwave during which temperatures well above 40℃ have been commonplace. With 1.4 billion people to feed, and such heatwaves set to become more common, the country clearly needs more sustainable agriculture.
In Punjab, a northwestern “breadbasket” state of 27 million people, policymakers are now seriously considering crop diversity, a marked shift away from a previous emphasis on fields of solely wheat or rice. The problem is those crops use lots of precious groundwater, which is fast being depleted. State data shows that groundwater is being overdrawn by 14 billion cubic metres per year. In 1984, less than half of the state’s “administrative blocks” were over exploited, today it is nearing 80%.
