Rice Production Systems and Drought Resilience in India

Hydro-climatic events such as drought tend to be responsible for much of agricultural output losses and to some extent income and livelihood loss across vulnerable communities in India. Several crops which are important for ensuring food security and sustaining livelihood are vulnerable to drought. Using rice as a representative crop, this study assesses the impact of drought on rice production systems in India. Based on a comprehensive district-level data set spanning over five decades, the study explores whether rice has become resilient to drought in India. The study also probes the extent of influence irrigation has in ameliorating the adverse impacts of drought on rice yield. The findings based on multiple empirical strategies suggest that rice crop has indeed become resilient to drought in India. The results also suggest significant regional disparities in the resilience of rice yield to different drought conditions. Irrigation did play an important role in making the rice crop less vulnerable to drought. However, irrigation is more effective in easing the adverse effects of low and moderate drought on rice yield than those imposed by severe drought.