Agricultural Biotechnology for Climate-Resilient Farming Systems in Odisha, India: Advances, Field Evidence and Future Strategies

Abstract

Agriculture in Odisha is highly vulnerable to climate variability, including floods, droughts, cyclones, salinity intrusion and rising temperature stress, which significantly affect crop productivity and livelihood security. In this context, agricultural biotechnology has emerged as an important approach for developing climate-resilient and sustainable farming systems. This review examines recent advancements in agricultural biotechnology and their relevance to Odisha’s agro-ecosystems. The review summarizes biotechnology-based interventions such as stress-tolerant crop varieties, biofertilizers, biopesticides, marker-assisted selection, CRISPR-based genome editing and AI-assisted precision agriculture. Field-level evidence from Odisha and eastern India indicates that submergence-tolerant rice varieties improve yield stability under flood conditions, while millet-based systems integrated with microbial biofertilizers enhance productivity and farmer income in drought-prone regions. The review further discusses the role of microbial biotechnology, digital agriculture and integrated climate-smart farming approaches in improving soil health, nutrient-use efficiency and environmental sustainability. The study also highlights major constraints limiting biotechnology adoption, including inadequate awareness, weak extension services, fragmented landholdings and limited access to quality bio-inputs. A brief literature-based review methodology and current limitations of available regional data are considered in the analysis. Overall, the review concludes that location-specific and farmer-centered biotechnology interventions, supported by policy integration and institutional strengthening, can significantly contribute to climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural development in Odisha and other climate-vulnerable regions.