GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 524
TO BE ANSWERED ON 24/07/2015
CONTINGENCY PLAN TO DEAL WITH EL NINO FACTOR
524. SHRI ANIL DESAI:
Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE
be pleased to state:
(a) whether the outlook for this year’s rainy season has turned bleaker with
Meteorological Department releasing its El Nino prediction, if so, the details thereof;
and
(b) what contingency plans Government has put in place to deal with El Nino
factor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
(DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)
(a) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its 2nd update on June 2, 2015
of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) forecast that for the country as a
whole the monsoon is likely to be 88±4% of the long period average.
Since April 2015, weak El Nino conditions were prevailing over the equatorial
Pacific Ocean, which got strengthened during the monsoon season.
This
strengthening of El-Nino may lead to reduced ISMR during the coming months as it
is one of the factors determining ISMR variability.
(b) The Government has been closely monitoring the situation arising out of
deficit rainfall and its impact on agriculture and allied sectors. As soon as the first
forecast of IMD of deficient ISMR became available, a series of interface meetings of
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation (DAC)-State Departments were organized to enhance preparedness for
the situation and sensitized to locally maintain the stocks of contingent seeds and
critical inputs to save the standing crop and contingent cropping. The government
also has put in place contingency plans with a bottom-up approach by involving
district level scientists of Agricultural Research Stations and KVKs of SAUs and
ICAR institutes.
…..2/-
-2District level contingency plans (600 districts) covering contingency strategies
were disseminated to the extension agencies and farmers on major weather related
aberrations such as delay in onset and breaks in monsoon causing early, mid and late
season droughts, flood, unusual rains, extreme weather events such as heat wave,
cold wave, frost, hailstorm and cyclone is available at www.crida.in and
www.agricoop.nic.in.
Further, ICAR issued state level advisories on suitable seed varieties, effective
in situ and ex situ rain water conservation methods and cultural practices to
effectively manage the crops at different growth stages under deficient monsoon
situation. The information is available at ICAR website www.icar.gov.in. Besides,
National Agromet Advisory Service Bulletins jointly prepared by IMD, ICAR and
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) are being issued fortnightly.
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