📘 Q.16 IAS Prelims 2021 — Environment & Ecology (Climate-Smart Agriculture)🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk
📌 The Question:
In the context of India’s preparation for Climate-Smart Agriculture, consider the following statements:
- The ‘Climate-Smart Village’ approach in India is a part of a project led by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), an international research programme.
- The project of CCAFS is carried out under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) headquartered in France.
- The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India is one of the CGIAR’s research centres.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
✅ Correct Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
🧠 Classroom Explanation:
🔹 Statement 1 — Correct ✔️
The Climate-Smart Village (CSV) approach is a flagship field-level innovation under CCAFS.
It allows farmers and researchers to test, adapt and scale climate-resilient agricultural practices such as drought-tolerant crops, improved water management, climate advisories, and low-emission techniques.
📌 CSVs are a living laboratory for Climate-Smart Agriculture.
🔹 Statement 2 — Correct ✔️
CCAFS (Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) operates under the CGIAR framework.
Key facts:
- CGIAR is a global research partnership on food security
- Headquarters: France (Montpellier)
- CCAFS was jointly led by CGIAR and Future Earth
🔹 Statement 3 — Correct ✔️
ICRISAT (Hyderabad) is one of the CGIAR Research Centres.
📌 Focus areas:
- Semi-arid tropics
- Millets, pulses, oilseeds
- Climate resilience, dryland farming, food security
India is therefore both a host and beneficiary of CGIAR science.
🔍 Curiosity Raiser:
🌾 Climate-Smart Villages are not “model villages” — they are testing grounds where failure is allowed so that scalable success becomes possible.
📚 Enrich Notes (UPSC Value-Add):
• Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) rests on three pillars:
- Sustainable increase in productivity
- Adaptation & resilience to climate change
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• India + CGIAR synergy
- ICRISAT (Hyderabad)
- IRRI collaboration on rice
- CSVs across rain-fed and vulnerable regions
• Prelims trap avoided:
❌ CGIAR is not UN-body
❌ CCAFS ≠ Indian government programme
✅ International research collaboration
🪶 IAS Monk Whisper:
When agriculture meets climate, remember this triangle — CGIAR → CCAFS → Climate-Smart Villages.