Changes in onset and progress of Monsoon in India have changed a lot in recent decade or so. It has affected large part of India, espeically dryland agriculture and farmers are puzzled with this erratic pattern. Here one obvious option that comes to mind is 'adaptation'. Our crop production plan needs to be adapted to fit into changing monsoon pattern. For this Meteorologists have a challenging task on hand to study the past as well as recent trends and project the expected (best possible) pattern for coming decades or two. Based on that crop scientists need to develop new crop production plans and cropping systems for each region in question. This might include selection of crops and cultivars, time of planting, method of planting (dry seeding or after rain), fertilization timing etc. In addition to this, developing 'Dynamic Cropping Sysstems' which takes into account immediate past and projected coming seasons in mind. This could also be termed as 'Contingent Crop Planning' for each zone to face sudden changes in monsoon patterns within season (long dry spell) or between-seasons (one season too we and other dry).

Duration, intensity and distribution of rainfall is showing very erratic behaviour, specially in south asia. you can check weather data and Pakistan suffered from floods in the three consecutive years (2010-12).

I see one point of concern: we can not change the agricultural landscape as fast as these changes are occurring. Agriculture can not move as fast as industry for reaching new zones with a climatic optimum. The migration of people adapting to CC will have serious consequences on the abandonment of some agricultural landscapes. So the problem is shifted towards sustainability and towards finding the best policies for mitigation to support sustainability. In this framework reliability of Global and Regional Circulation Models and Weather Generators on complex morphology must play with reliable eco/phisiolgical models of plants, pests and soil erosion. We should study all these interactions for the ecosystem as a whole (bothnatural and antropic) and use economic models to find the most sustainable policies to mitigate the impacts. So coupling "Contingent Crop Planning" is a great idea for support short-term evaluations on sustainability, while looking to the future with solid tools to forecast CC impacts

Climate-Change in resp. to agriculture involves mostly delayed rain, intermittend rain-fall, reduced total quantities, higher rain-fall-intensities and increasing temperatures. All this can to some extend be buffered by more biological, organic agronomy, mixed cropping, mulching, more diversity in crop-choice, etc. Contour-oriented landscape-design and land-use planning ---- as done in Asia since 5,000 years by terracing ---- is another important coping mechanism, leading to a) more water-retention where climate-change reduces rain-fall and b) prevention of flash-floods and erosion, where high rain-fall intensities evolve. Rice-cropping in terraces or basins is adequate in wet agro-climates. In Africa breeding for short-duration varietes and for more drought-resistance has become very common and successful. Sorghum, one of the most drought-resistant plants, could be strategically promoted, esp. by breeding for more palatability. The approach of perma-culture ---- which follows the principle of the original "before humans" vegetation and land-cover ---- will probably develop dynamically wherever conventional agriculture and monocropping-economics reach their ecological deadlocks, also for rehabilitating manmade desertification. Transplanting rice can reduce the vegetation-period in the fields, where shorter monsoon affects cropping. In India ---- where ratoon-cropping of rice has already some relevance --- important intensified research "in the field" can probably help to have 2 crops of rice where mansoon rain fails or deteriorates. Using all available organic soil-additives (N-rich horn- or bone-meal, crop-processing residues, fire-ash, saw-dust, mulch, etc.) will also buffer negativ impacts of climate-change on monsoon and agro-climate in general.

Seriously, it is a tough question to answer as nature can't be predicted precisely & it is beyond human control. One of the suggestions is to alter the sowing date of the crops to manage the production loss

To moderate the impact of climate change, strategy should be devised at crop, farm, region and national level. In rainfed areas, appropriate and judicious management of rainwater for enhancing in-situ soil moisture conservation with the help of soil and water conservation measures viz., sowing across the slopes, ridge and furrow cultivation, compartmental bunding, contour farming, broad-bed and furrow, and using harvested-rain-water for supplemental with micro-irrigation system is vital to mitigate the impact of climate change and variability. Some farm level measures such as better land use management (altering date of planting, drought tolerant, and multiple-stress-drought varieties, late or early sowing) crop diversification and income are also very important for moderating the adverse impact of climate change. At regional and national level, some policy decision relating to crop insurance, efficient weather information system, reducing dependence on agriculture, expanding formal credit facilities ought to be taken and earnestly implemented. Holistic and integrated approach like watershed management rendering multiple benefits: sustainable production, resource conservation, groundwater recharge, drought moderation, and above all ensures social equity is deemed to key for combating the challenges of climate change and variability.