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Purpose: The study attempts to estimate farm subsidies the governments can save by transitioning to a millet-based production system, replacing GHG emission-intensive crops. Design/methodology/approach: It updates a 131 × 131 commodity input–output (IO) table of the year 2015–16 into 2021–22 using the RAS procedure and simulates the economy-wide impacts of replacing rice and wheat with pearl millet and sorghum using consumption and production approaches. It then quantifies fertilizer, electricity and credit subsidy expenses the government can save through this intervention. It also estimates the potential reduction in GHG emissions that the transition could bring about. India is taken as a case. Findings: Results show pearl millet expansion brings greater benefits to the government. It is estimated that when households return to their pearl millet consumption rates that prevailed in the early-reform period, this could save the Indian government Rs. 622 crores (USD 75 m). The savings shall be reinvested in agriculture to finance climate adaptation/mitigation efforts, contributing to a sustainable food system. Net GHG emissions also decline by 3.3–3.6 MMT CO2e. Practical implications: Indian government has been actively aiming to bring down paddy areas since 2013–14 through the Crop Diversification Program and promoting millets (and pulses and oilseeds) on these farms. The prime reason is to check rapidly declining groundwater irrigation in Green Revolution states. Regulations in the past in these states have not brought the intended results. Meanwhile, electricity and fertilizers are heavily subsidized for agriculture. A slight shift in the cropping system can help conserve these resources. Meanwhile, GHG emissions could also be brought down and subsidies could well be saved. The results of the study indicate the same. Social implications: A less warm society is what governments and nongovernment organizations across the world are aiming for at present. Financial implications affect actions against climate change to a greater extent, apart from technological innovations. The effects of policy strategies discussed in the study, taking a large country as a case, when implemented appropriately around the regions, could help move a step closer to action against climate change. Originality/value: The paper addresses a key but rarely explored research issue – that how a climate-sensitive crop choice will help reduce the government's fiscal burden to finance climate adaption/mitigation. It also offers a mechanism to estimate the benefits within an economy-wide framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Bactrocera dorsalis and Bactrocera correcta are two important fruit flies that are distributed in India and keep spreading to other countries due to global warming. To colonize other countries, they need to have the ability to adapt to winter temperatures, and it is thus important to know the factors behind their rapid cold hardening ability. In this study, we identified the temperature at which the two species showed the highest survival rate and performed transcriptome sequencing to explore the potential key genes involved in their rapid cold hardening ability. We identified four heat shock protein genes and tested their expression levels using RT-qPCR. Finally, we knocked down these genes to test their function in rapid cold hardening. We found that the survival rate after rapid cold hardening was related to the expression level of Hsp68 and Hsp70 in B. dorsalis and to that of Hsp23 and Hsp70 in B. correcta. This study helps elucidate the adaptation mechanism underlying the rapid cold acclimation-hardening ability of the two species and provides information for studies related to the mechanism of their tolerance to cold temperatures. Bactrocera dorsalis and Bactrocera correcta are two invasive species that can cause major economic damage to orchards and the fruit import and export industries. Their distribution is advancing northward due to climate change, which is threatening greater impacts on fruit production. This study tested the rapid cold-hardening ability of the two species and identified the temperature associated with the highest survival rate. Transcriptome data and survival data from the two Bactrocera species' larvae were obtained after rapid cold-hardening experiments. Based on the sequencing of transcripts, four Hsp genes were found to be affected: Hsp68 and Hsp70, which play more important roles in the rapid cold hardening of B. dorsalis, and Hsp23 and Hsp70, which play more important roles in the rapid cold hardening of B. correcta. This study explored the adaptability of the two species to cold, demonstrated the expression and function of four Hsps in response to rapid cold hardening, and explained the occurrence and expansion of these two species of tephritids, offering information for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]