The Impact of Climate Change on the Yield of Major Agricultural Crops in India: An Econometric Study

This study seeks to examine the impact of climate change on the yield of major crops in India. We compiled annual time series data of seven major crops namely, rice, wheat, pulses, groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, sugarcane, and cotton for 57 years (1964-65 to 2020-21) to study the impact of climatic variables namely, rainfall, maximum, and minimum temperatures on major crop yields in India. Ordinary least square as well as quantile regression technique were used to estimate the impact of climate change on the yield of seven major crops. The estimated results indicate that rainfall has a significant favourable effect on the yields of most crops except rapeseed and mustard (R&M). The average maximum temperature has a significantly adverse effect on rice, pulses and rapeseed and mustard (R&M) yields except on sugarcane and cotton yields. However, average minimum temperature has a positive relationship with crop yield in general. Thus, proper agricultural policy is needed to mitigate the adverse effects of climatic factors on crop yields.

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Research Article | Published online : 08-May-2024