Impact of promising climate-resilient technologies under rainfed condition: A case study from NICRA Village of Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh

Abstract

Climate change has emerged as a critical threat to rainfed agriculture, particularly in regions characterized by high climatic variability. To enhance climate resilience among small and marginal farmers, the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project introduced several climate-resilient technologies. This study evaluates the impact of three promising Climate Resilient Technologies viz. drought-tolerant paddy variety (Vikram TCR), heat-tolerant mustard (DRMR-150-35) and sesame in field bund in NICRA village Paraswani, Mahasamund district under rainfed farming system typology. Results demonstrated significant improvements in productivity, net returns, and resilience percentages under CRTs compared to farmers' traditional practices. It was found that drought-tolerant paddy provided 86.18% resilience improvement, while heat-tolerant mustard increased resilience by 56.17%. Sesame bund farming demonstrated exceptional profitability with a benefit-cost ratio of 3.04. The study concludes that CRTs under NICRA significantly enhanced yield stability and economic resilience in under rainfed farming systems, offering substantial potential for scaling across similar agro-ecological regions.