- State government is prepared to deal with the possible impact of El Nino, measures are being taken to protect farmers from El Nino: Minister Shri Netam
- Chhattisgarh government addressing farmers’ concerns, focus on pulses, oilseeds and short-duration crops during El Nino
Amidst fears of a weak monsoon this year due to the impact of El Niño, the Chhattisgarh government has taken swift steps to protect the interests of farmers. To combat the drought, the state government has developed a comprehensive strategy prioritizing short-duration crops, pulses and oilseeds, seed security, and crop insurance. Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare Minister Ram Vichhar Netam provided this information at a meeting chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The meeting was held via videoconferencing.
Agriculture Production Commissioner Mr. Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi, Director Agriculture Mr. Rahul Dev, Director Research Dr. Vivek Tripathi and senior officers of the department were present in the meeting.
In a meeting held via video conferencing, Minister Netam stated that the state had received only 30.8 mm of average rainfall as of June 22nd, which is 58.3 mm less than the average of the last 10 years. The target for Kharif sowing is 4.869 million hectares, but so far, only 2 percent of the area has been sown. In this challenging situation, the government has initiated several concrete measures to protect farmers from potential losses.
Agriculture Production Commissioner Mr. Pardeshi stated that the Agriculture Department has promoted short-duration rice varieties and has directed the preservation of quality seeds of maize, kodo, kutki, ragi, pulses, and oilseeds. It is being advised to cultivate pulses and oilseeds as intercrops with cereals in high-yielding lands. Farmers are being encouraged to shift from rice to pulses and oilseeds. He stated that to ensure seed availability, the State Seed Corporation has set a target of distributing 4.95 lakh quintals of certified seeds. 1,22,095 quintals of seeds have been made available for the 15 drought-affected districts, of which 48,449 quintals have already reached farmers.
Mr. Pardeshi informed that along with ensuring adequate storage of chemical fertilizers, awareness campaigns are being run regarding nano fertilizers and profitable crops. The government has also directed to coordinate with insurance companies and make the insurance plan effective for compensating for crop losses. So that farmers can be saved from financial loss. He also informed that focus is being given on pulses, oilseeds and short duration crops which are less affected by El Niño. Also, keeping El Niño in mind, the Research Department of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur has prepared an emergency action plan.