Climate change has resulted in men in rural areas migrating to cities due to poor yield in crops, said Eilia Jafar, an expert in climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, and community-based approaches in agriculture

“Climate change is completely disrupting agriculture worldwide in various forms. … if we go deeper, there are very serious impacts on health also and overall in terms of economies. So globally, there is definitely a clear indication that due to climate change, food insecurity is increasing ,” she told businessline in an online interaction.

Currently, the stress of the heat is very much evident on farmers. “There is a clear reduction in yield and projections are scary in terms of the staple foods like wheat, maize or rice. The production, it is projected,  will be significantly reduced by 2050 and 2080,” said Jafar, who has worked with CARE India and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 

Limited access

Stating that few people understood the significance of climate change’s impact on rural women, she said they are impacted in two ways. “The first is the direct impact on women who also constitute 33 to 48 per cent of the workforce, and have limited land rights. They have limited access to credit to be able to do anything. They have limited access to technology in growth. So with all these, women are usually left behind when we talk about smart climate, smart agriculture or any new technology,” the expert said.

Due to drop in yield, men are migrating to cities, leaving behind women in rural areas. These women are burdened with managing agriculture along with household chores, but they too suffer from malnutrition. 

“Their reproductive health is completely affected. There are a lot of complications during prenatal and neonatal births as well,” Jafar, who has worked as Chief Programs Officer at SaveLIFE Foundation.  

She quoted the Costs of Climate Inaction – displacement and distress migration report, which has pegged the migration of 14 million men in India due to poor yields. A study, “Feminisation of agriculture” by Marwadi University at Rajkot in Gujarat, said the role of women is increasing in the agricultural sector because men are migrating and moving to the non-farm sector to diversify their source of livelihood.  

Funds underutilised

Though there is a huge push on transition to green energy, she said funds for such adaptations are either underutilised or not dedicated fully.  However, some schemes, such as Jal Shakti Abhiyan, which targets water conservation in drought-prone areas, are turning effective. The “Mission Life” project that promotes ecosystem restoration is also helping. However, access to women in certain areas is limited and increasing it remains a challenge. 

Pointing to “Mission Mausam”, Jafar said it is a great initiative by the Ministry of Earth Sciences that will improve the forecasting of weather patterns more accurately and help growers decide their farming activities. 

“The current changing weather patterns or the less predictability of how the weather will be, can be addressed through early warnings if hopefully the Mission succeeds in improving forecasting,” said the climate resilience expert.  

On combating climate change, Jafar, whose expertise has been sought in numerous consultancy assignments, including the National Institute of Disaster Management, said the government has to be equitable when it introduces policies. 

Global collaboration

“Carbon pricing and market-based instruments, if introduced, then companies which emit more carbon dioxide will ultimately end up paying. So there is a cost to the production of pollution. Therefore, equitable carbon pricing and market-based instruments can be introduced, she said.

In terms of international collaboration, the Paris Agreement was the first great one where all the countries united together and talked about their commitment and how to address the issues together, how to share funds, knowledge, smart ideas and technology. 

“Even the countries which are left behind can learn from countries that have already done it. That kind of collaboration in terms of sharing resources is required,” said Jafar.

The government could ask corporate sector to invest in climate adaptation through corporate social responsibility projects. They can be asked to support research and development on clear energy, she said.

Pointing to India forming the International Solar Alliance, in which 100 countries are partners, the expert said it provides an opportunity to accelerate solar adoption in all tropical nations and share resources, in terms of investment in technology, in R&D.

Balancing productivity with sustainability

On the US pulling out of its commitment to climate change, Jafar said the positive picture has been to be seen as whatever decisions are being made are federal. 

“But a lot is happening at a decentralised level. For example, California State has been leading climate change and climate adaptation work for years, and it is still committed to it. In New York, also, that’s happening,” she said. 

US companies such as Microsoft, Walmart and Apple continue to promote climate action. The other way to tackle it could introducing penalties if any country refuses to invest. Or coalition of nations could be formed for innovation and technology in which countries refusing to be part of climate change action can be denied membership. 

On balancing productivity with sustainability, Jafar said sustainability has to be an integral part of productivity. “How we integrate sustainability into core strategies is important, whether it is the planning by the Centre or corporations, the integration of sustainability has to be there. The other thing is that we have to optimise resource use and efficiency,” she said.

These could be investments in energy efficiency, resource optimisation, waste reduction and circular economy.  

The other aspect is reaching the process or commitments to the grassroots. “That’s the only way we will be able to reach farmers on the ground. The other thing is promoting local innovations,” said the expert who has contributed to the development of draft Adaptation Communications for COP27.  

Published on May 6, 2025