Indian agriculture faces an escalating climate crisis, with extreme weather events occurring on 331 of 334 days between January and November 2025, impacting over 17 million hectares of farmland, according to the FAIFA report Inspired by Nature: El Niño-Ready Farming for Climate Resilience and Our Future. The report, as covered by The Hindu BusinessLine, underscores that climate change has become a daily reality for millions of farmers, driven by unpredictable monsoons, rising temperatures, recurring droughts and the growing influence of El Niño.
Extreme Weather and El Niño Threat
The FAIFA report highlights that India experienced extreme weather events on nearly all days in the first 11 months of 2025, with more than 17 million hectares of farmland affected. Soil health has also deteriorated, with most tested samples showing deficiencies in key nutrients and organic carbon. Compounding these challenges, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is forecasting El Niño conditions for the upcoming monsoon, which could bring rainfall levels to the lowest in 11 years. This would mark one of the driest seasons in over a decade, making proactive planning and adaptation critical for farmers.
Soil Health and Organic Farming Push
In response to mounting environmental stress, India is witnessing a strong shift toward organic and natural farming. As of January 2025, India ranks second globally in organic agricultural land and first in the number of organic producers, according to the report. The country's organic food market, valued at nearly $1.9 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to over $10 billion by 2033, reflecting rising consumer demand for sustainable food. This transition is part of a broader effort to restore soil health, improve water-use efficiency and promote crop diversification.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Extreme weather days (Jan-Nov 2025) | 331 out of 334 |
| Farmland impacted | Over 17 million hectares |
| Organic food market value (2024) | ~$1.9 billion |
| Projected organic market (2033) | >$10 billion |
| India's global rank in organic producers | 1st |
| India's rank in organic agricultural land | 2nd |
Government Initiatives for Resilience
The Government of India has already laid groundwork for climate-resilient agriculture through several initiatives, the source reports. The Digital Agriculture Mission, AgriStack and Bharat-VISTAAR are helping farmers access better information, services and market linkages using technology. The PM-KUSUM scheme encourages clean energy adoption in agriculture, while the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) strengthens risk management by providing farmers with greater protection against weather-related losses. These programmes reflect a forward-looking policy approach that recognises climate resilience, sustainability and technology adoption as central pillars of agricultural transformation.
Lessons from the Past and Path Forward
The FAIFA report draws a historical lesson from Khirsara, Gujarat, where farmers faced a severe arid spell nearly 4,200 years ago. Rather than continuing with barley monoculture, they diversified into drought-resilient crops such as millets, sorghum and rice, helping their communities survive. The report emphasises that resilience comes from adaptation, and India is uniquely placed to combine traditional farming wisdom with modern technology. To build a more resilient agricultural ecosystem, the report calls for a dual transition—ecological and technological—including restoring soil health, improving water-use efficiency, promoting crop diversification and integrating artificial intelligence, satellite monitoring, precision irrigation and weather-based advisory systems.
For commodity traders and agricultural analysts, the FAIFA findings signal persistent supply-side risks for Indian-grown crops. The extreme weather events have already damaged farmland, and a weak monsoon due to El Niño could further depress yields of key staples such as rice, pulses and oilseeds. While precise production losses are not detailed in the source, the scale of the impact—17 million hectares affected—underscores the vulnerability of India's agricultural output to climate variability, which may influence domestic and international commodity markets in the coming seasons.
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