Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture - Implications for Food Production in Tamil Nadu, India

Policy Brief No. 86 - 15

Policy makers in India need to pay careful attention to the potential impacts of climate change on food production. Research in Tamil Nadu suggests that rice and sorghum yields are likely to decline because of changes in rainfall and temperature even under a 'moderate' climate change scenario. More importantly, rainfall and temperature may have threshold effects with yields increasing and then decreasing. This calls for the use of climate-resilient seed varieties and examining options such as altering crop sowing periods in order to maintain yields.