The Hindu : Delayed monsoon worries Govt.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 17, 2002

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Delayed monsoon worries Govt.

By Gargi Parsai

A farmer in a village near Batinda, Punjab, takes a look at the sad state of his paddy crop due to insufficient rain on Friday. — PTI

New Delhi July 16. The Central Government is keeping a close watch on the crop and weather situation in view of the delayed monsoon which has hit kharif sowing in parts of central and north India. The Union Ministry of Agriculture has drawn up a contingency plan and advised the States to be ready with alternative cropping strategies to mitigate the consequences arising out of a delay in the onset of the monsoon rain in oilseeds and rice-growing States of Central and North India.

There has already been a loss of acreage under bajra and soyabean due to the monsoon delay in monsoon in parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The loss cannot be recouped even if it rains. Likewise, the delay has hit rice transplantation in irrigated States such as Punjab and Haryana.

A day after the Indian Meteorological Department forecast for monsoon to hit Orissa failed, the Union Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh, today reviewed the situation with senior officials of his Ministry, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the IMD. Later, he said a contingency plan was in place and an officer of the level of a Joint Secretary would coordinate relief for farmers.

Now the IMD forecasts a renewal of the monsoon in the North in the next five days. "The Government is keeping its fingers crossed hoping that the monsoon will come early next week as forecast by the Met Department, but in case it doesn't, we will not be caught napping,'' Mr. Singh said. States such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been the worst-affected and even if the monsoon arrives now, it will be late to grow soyabean and bajra.

These States have been asked to grow alternative crops such as `gur' and `mothh' for which the sowing time is a little later.

The Ministry's contingency plan also involves the promotion of pulses and oilseeds in rice grown areas of Chhattisgarh.

The Area Officers in the Ministry have been in constant touch with the State Government authorities, particularly in the worst-hit Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.

Arrangements are being made to ensure that there is no shortage of certified seeds, tubewells are being repaired in time and power supply is adequate in the rural areas to use irrigation facilities for an optimal moisture in the soil. Facilities for credit and coverage under crop insurance are being geared up.

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