NEW DELHI: Central government on Monday asked states to review their preparedness for the upcoming Kharif (summer crops) season so that they can take contingency measures on time in case prediction of normal monsoon goes wrong.

Though the country's national weather forecaster - India Meteorological Department (IMD) - has predicted normal monsoon this year, it will be able to come out with an update of time and region-specific distribution of rainfall early next month.

Good region-specific distribution of rainfall during June-September period is an important indicator of better farm output as the overall performance of Kharif crops, including rice, cotton, sugarcane, pulses (toor, urad and moong) and oil-seeds (groundnut and soybean), depend more on adequate distribution of rainfall. If certain parts of the country get good rainfall and other parts do not get that much of rain, the output gets affected.

Keeping such uncertainties in mind, the Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh wrote to the chief ministers of states\UTs "for review of the states' preparedness in managing weather related contingency, if any, in advance so that the possible adverse impact of sub-par rainfall on the farmers can be mitigated".
Singh, in his letter, noted that though 2016-17 was a very satisfactory year for the agriculture sector as a whole and the farmers were able to take the best advantage of a normal monsoon to create record-breaking performance in the production of cereals, pulses and oil-seeds, the agricultural operations faced disruption in some states on account of drought caused by aberration in weather conditions.


"It would, therefore, be helpful if a review of the state of preparedness in managing any weather related contingency is carried out in advance so that the possible adverse impact of sub-par rainfall, if at all, on the farmers can be mitigated", said Singh.
Ensuring availability of abiotic stress resilient seed varieties, restoration of irrigation infrastructure, including desiltaion of canals, repair/energization of tube-wells, replacement/repair of faulty pumps and repair of transformers/power lines, and water conservation measures like recharge/harvesting related works under the MGNREGS and water-shed management are some of the measures which the states are expected to take to tackle deficit rainfall, if any, in the monsoon season.


Singh also informed that the central government has already permitted states and UTs to earmark 25% of funds under centrally sponsored schemes as flexi-funds which could be used for mitigation of natural calamities. Besides, he asked the states to expand the coverage of the 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' to enable farmers to minimise risks associated with loss of production in the event of a disaster.

Source: The Times Of India