Agriculture Ministry Activates El Niño Monitoring and Contingency Plans for Kharif Season

New Delhi, Jul 8 (KNN) The Centre has stepped up preparedness for the ongoing Kharif season amid concerns over the potential impact of El Niño, with weekly reviews, contingency planning and farmer support measures underway.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the overall rainfall deficit has narrowed from 33 per cent in June to 24 per cent in July, while the number of rainfall-deficient districts has declined from 262 to 178.

The Centre is closely monitoring the monsoon situation in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Odisha.

Kharif sowing has covered 350.85 lakh hectares, around 91.95 lakh hectares lower than the corresponding period last year. Soybean and cotton sowing have been affected by the delayed monsoon, with farmers advised to shift to short-duration, low water-intensive crops such as maize, bajra and moong where required.

The minister said contingency plans were prepared in collaboration with ICAR and shared with states. Under the Khet Bachao Abhiyan, over 1.24 lakh programmes reached more than 80 lakh farmers.

The government has maintained a national seed reserve of about 1.75 lakh quintals. Under the Kisan Credit Card campaign, over 94,000 applications had been approved out of 1.14 lakh received by June 30.

The Centre is also promoting wider coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and has activated monitoring mechanisms, including the El Niño Monitoring Cell, Crop Weather Watch Group, state control rooms and designated officers.

(KNN Bureau)