Climate resilience in Indian agriculture: from forecasts to action

In the third week of July 2026, India faced the consequences of monsoon rains: floods and landslides occurred in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, and Assam. In the state of Assam, more than 3.9 thousand hectares of crops were affected in just a few days, thousands of people were displaced, and over two dozen deaths were recorded. Existing tools, such as the IMD's Mausamgram portal, provide accurate weather forecasts, and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj's Gram Manchitra platform offers geospatial data; however, this information does not allow farmers to make prompt decisions regarding the protection of their harvest and infrastructure.

Specialists emphasize the difference between receiving weather data and developing a strategy for action. It is not enough for farmers to know about approaching downpours 72 hours in advance; they need information on which plots are prone to flooding, where it is safe to store the harvested crop, and which logistics routes will be blocked. Damage from natural disasters often extends beyond the fields: flooded warehouses, destroyed roads, and the inability to deliver produce to markets (mandis) lead to serious financial losses.

To increase climate resilience, it is proposed to create a unified platform that integrates meteorological reports with data on socio-economic vulnerability and infrastructure facilities, such as warehouses, granaries, and transport corridors. This approach will allow for informed decision-making at the level of specific plots, rather than relying on static reports.

Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and panchayat councils can play an important role in implementing this strategy, as they are capable of coordinating grain storage, the use of protected sites for livestock, and the collection of documents for insurance claims. However, the question of funding such systems remains open. The experience of sub-Saharan African countries shows that relying solely on the funds of the farmers themselves, given the low level of digitalization, is ineffective. Developing a commercially sustainable risk management model accessible to authorities and supply chain operators could significantly accelerate the process of damage compensation and protect the incomes of agricultural producers.