Government tightens kharif preparedness with weekly monsoon reviews

New Delhi: With concerns over a possible El Niño impact on this year's southwest monsoon, the Centre has intensified its preparedness for the ongoing Kharif season through regular monitoring, contingency planning, and farmer support measures. While June witnessed a significant rainfall shortfall, improving monsoon activity in July has provided some relief, prompting optimism for faster sowing in the coming weeks.

Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the country's rainfall deficit has narrowed from 33 percent in June to 24 percent so far in July. He also noted that the number of rainfall-deficient districts has reduced from 262 to 178 following improved rainfall across several regions.

Speaking after a high-level review meeting in New Delhi, Chouhan said 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. He expressed confidence that rainfall activity would strengthen further during July, helping accelerate Kharif sowing.

Kharif Sowing Still Behind Last Year

According to the Agriculture Ministry, Kharif sowing has covered 350.85 lakh hectares so far, which is 91.95 lakh hectares lower than the corresponding period last year. The delayed arrival of the monsoon has particularly affected the sowing of soybean and cotton, two major Kharif crops.

To help farmers cope with delayed rainfall, agricultural experts have advised shifting to short-duration and low water-requiring crops such as maize, bajra and moong, wherever suitable.

Preparations Began in April

The government said its preparedness exercise began well before the monsoon season. In collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), district-level contingency plans were prepared in April and shared with state governments to tackle possible rainfall-related disruptions.

As part of the 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' conducted in June, more than 1.24 lakh awareness and outreach programmes were organised across the country, reaching over 80 lakh farmers with crop management and contingency advisories.

Seed Reserve and Credit Support

To avoid disruptions in sowing, the Centre has maintained a national seed reserve of around 1.75 lakh quintals, ensuring sufficient seed availability if re-sowing or crop diversification becomes necessary.

The government has also intensified the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) campaign. As of June 30, over 94,000 KCC applications had been approved out of nearly 1.14 lakh applications received.

Farmers are also being encouraged to enrol under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to secure financial protection against crop losses caused by adverse weather.

Continuous Monitoring Underway

The Centre has activated multiple monitoring mechanisms to track the evolving weather situation. These include the El Niño Monitoring Cell, the Crop Weather Watch Group, state-level control rooms, and designated nodal officers who are reviewing rainfall, sowing progress, crop health and market conditions on a regular basis.

Officials said the government will continue holding weekly reviews to assess the monsoon's progress and ensure timely interventions wherever required.

With the monsoon showing signs of recovery, the Centre believes that early preparedness, adequate seed availability, crop advisories and insurance coverage will help reduce the impact of any weather-related disruptions during the Kharif season.