Editorial 1 : Why govt wants to formulate standard National Agriculture Code
Context: What is the National Agriculture Code, currently being formulated by Bureau of Indian Standards
Introduction: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun the process of formulating a National Agriculture Code (NAC), on the lines of the existing National Building Code and National Electrical Code.
What is the NAC?
- BIS is the national body which sets standards for different products across various economic sectors. In agriculture, it has already set standards for machinery (tractors, harvesters, etc.) and various inputs (fertilisers, pesticides, etc.)
- There are still many areas not covered by the BIS standards.
- Example: There is no standard for agriculture practices like preparation of fields, micro irrigation and water use.
- NAC will cover the entire agriculture cycle, and will also contain a guidance note for future standardisation.
- NAC will serve as a guide for farmers, agriculture universities, and officials involved in the field.
- The code will have two parts.
- First will contain general principles for all crops.
- Second will deal with crop-specific standards for the likes of paddy, wheat, oilseeds, and pulses.
What will the NAC cover?
- In addition to standards for agriculture machinery, the NAC will cover all agriculture processes and post-harvest operations, such as crop selection, land preparation, sowing/transplanting, irrigation/drainage, soil health management, plant health management, harvesting/threshing, primary processing, post-harvest, sustainability, and record maintenance.
- It will also include standards for input management, like use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides, as well as standards for crop storage and traceability.
- NAC will cover all new and emerging areas like natural farming and organic farming, as well as the use of Internet-of-Things in the field of agriculture.
What are the stated objects of the NAC?
- To create an implementable national code covering recommendations for agriculture practices taking agroclimatic zones, crop type, socio economic diversity of the country and all aspects of agrifood value chain into consideration;
- To act as an enabler of quality culture in Indian agriculture by providing the required reference to policy makers, agriculture departments and regulators for incorporating the provisions of NAC in their schemes, policies, or regulations;
- To create a comprehensive guide for the farming community to ensure effective decision making in agricultural practices;
- To integrate relevant Indian Standards with recommended agricultural practices.
- To address the horizontal aspects of agriculture such as SMART farming, sustainability, traceability and documentation; and
- To aid in the capacity building program organized by agriculture extension services and civil society organisations.
What is the proposed timeline?
- BIS has already formulated a strategy to standardise practices.
- It has formed working panels for 12-14 specifically identified areas, which will include university professors and R&D organisations.
- These panels will draft the code, with a tentative deadline for the NAC set as October 2025.
- After this, the BIS plans to provide training to farmers on the NAC and its standards.
What are Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farms?
- BIS has also taken an initiative for setting up of Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farm (SADF) in selected agriculture institutes in the country.
- These farms will serve as experimental sites for testing and implementing various agricultural practices and new technologies in accordance with Indian Standards.
- For the development of these specialised farms, the BIS plans to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with premier agricultural institutes.
- BIS will provide financial assistance to such institutes for setting up the SADFs, where anyone including officials responsible for extension activities, farmers or industry people can come and learn.
Editorial 2 : As green patch spreads in Antarctica, here’s what is worrying scientists
Context: Plant cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than 10 times over the past few decades due to rising temperatures.
How quickly is Antarctica warming?
- A 2023 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the continent is warming twice as fast as the global average, at a rate of between 0.22oC and 0.32oC per decade currently.
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that the Earth as a whole is warming at the rate of 0.14-0.18oC per decade.
- The situation in the Antarctic Peninsula is worse than in the rest of Antarctica.
- It is warming five times faster than the global average. The Antarctic Peninsula is now almost 3oC warmer on average than in 1950.
- Antarctica has also been experiencing record-breaking heatwaves, especially during the height of its winter season (which is summer in the northern hemisphere).
- In July 2024, ground temperatures in parts of the continent were around 10oC higher than normal, and up to 28oC higher on certain days.
What has the study found?
- Researchers used satellite imagery and data to conclude that the extent of vegetation (mostly mosses and lichen) in the Antarctic Peninsula has increased 14 times in just 35 years.
- The rate of greening has increased by more than 30% between 2016 and 2021.
- Rising temperatures in Antarctica have also resulted in a rapid decrease in the extent of sea ice.
- Warmer open seas may be leading to wetter conditions that favour plant growth, according to the study.
Why should we worry about increased vegetation in Antarctica?
- Invasive Species: Mosses can colonise bare rock and create the foundation of soils that could in milder conditions make the continent more favourable for the growth of other invasive species that could threaten native flora and fauna.
- Soil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation.
- This raises the risk of non-native and invasive species arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.
- Lower Albedo: Increase in plant life could also reduce the Antarctic Peninsula’s ability to reflect sunlight (solar energy) back to Space, a darker surface absorbs more solar radiation.
- This could further increase ground temperatures, with local and global repercussions.
Conclusion: As unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere mainly through the burning of fossil fuels, Antarctica will continue to get warmer, and the vegetation is only likely to increase.