India’s long-standing official position in global climate negotiations has been that any discussion on agriculture must be held in the realm of adaptation, not mitigation.1 The government considers the sector a clear out-of-bounds sector with respect to emissions reduction as agriculture is a sensitive issue and pursing mitigation may produce negative impacts on peoples’ livelihoods. Is this apprehension sound? Is there any trade-off between agricultural development, adaptation and mitigation? Indian Agriculture and Climate Change. Even after decades of industrialisation, India still remains an agricultural country. While there is a global trend of decline, according to Worldwatch Institute, agricultural populations in India has grown by a whopping 50 per cent over 1980-2011. On the contrary, agriculture’s share in the GDP has seen a secular decline since independence. Nonetheless, agriculture has far more important role in Indian economy and policymaking than its share of GDP suggests. It employs about half of the workforce, provides livelihood to about two-third of the population, and food has been the largest contributor to inflation for several years, contributing to staggering poverty.