NEW DELHI: The Centre has
directed state governments to be
"fully geared" up to meet any
eventuality of erratic rains
following reports that the El Nino
weather pattern would affect the
monsoon this year.
The southwest monsoon, the
lifeline of Indian agriculture, starts
in June and its progress triggers
sowing of kharif crops. Farmers
depend on monsoon rain as 55% of
agricultural land does not have
irrigation facilities.
"In view of indications of erratic
rainfall during the ensuing
monsoon season, agriculture
secretary Ashish Bahuguna advised
states to be fully geared up to meet
any eventuality of erratic monsoon
rains," according to an official
statement.
Bahuguna spoke after a two-day
conference that discussed
preparedness for the forthcoming
kharif (summer) sowing.
He said the contingency plans,
already prepared for over 500
districts, will provide the first
point of reference for checking
actions that need to be taken.
Action at the local level will be
fine-tuned with inputs from
scientists from Indian Council for
Agricultural Research institutes,
agricultural universities and Krishi
Vighyan Kendras, he added.
"Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra that have higher
frequency of drought need to be
prepared with sufficient seed of
short-duration varieties of kharif
crops," Agriculture commissioner J
S Sandhu said at the conference.
The Indian Meteorological
Department is likely to come out
with its monsoon forecast in mid-
April and the impact of El Nino
may not be as severe as it was in
2009, agriculture minister Sharad
Pawar had said on the sidelines of
the inaugural session of the
conference.
El Nino refers to the warmer-than-
average sea surface temperatures
in the central and eastern tropical
Pacific. This condition occurs every
four to 12 years. It last hit India's
monsoon in 2009, causing the
worst drought in almost four
decades.
Warming of the tropical Pacific
Ocean is likely in the coming
months, with international climate
models showing temperatures
approaching or exceeding El Nino
thresholds, Australia's Bureau of
Meteorology said in a statement on
its website on February 25.
The conference, attended by state
agriculture officials and scientists,
decided to focus on ensuring
timely availability of fertilisers and
quality seed and credit to farmers
in the forthcoming kharif season.
February 28, 2014
Centre advises states to be prepared for erratic monsoon rain
