New Delhi:
At a time when the NDA government has come out with its first budget, deficiency in rainfall had created drought-like situation in many parts of the country. It has affected the Kharif crops mainly paddy. khariif season mainly comprises of paddy, jwar, bajra, maize, cotton, sugarcane, jute, pulses and oilseeds.
Shortfall in the production of these crops may give rise to prices in coming days. Today foodgrain production in the country accrues from approximately 142 million hectare of cultivated land. Of this, 40 per cent is irrigated and accounts for nearly 55 per cent of production. The remaining (85 million hectare) is rain-fed and contributes only about 45 per cent to total agricultural production.
In the month of June the deficit is near about 42 per cent which can have an adverse impact on the foodgrain production. The question before this government is how they are going to tackle this situation? Marathan meeting has taken place and government is ready with its crisis management plan.
As we know our agriculture economy is based on monsoon and India needs a long term perspective plan to deal with drought like situation. Firstly, we need a separate drought management division in this country. There should be coordination between different departments so that relief reaches to farmers.
Presently Central government has to depend on state government as rain deficient area has been declared by the state government.
A large number of ministries like IMD, Power, Fertilizers and Rural development are related to drought. In order to mitigate the effect of drought the better coordination between the department can play a vital role.
Secondly, there are two central sponsored schemes for providing relief assistance to the states. Calamity relief fund administered by Home Affairs and National calamity contingency fund under finance ministry. The real problem with these schemes is that the money doesn’t reach in time. Government has to insure that money should be disbursed on time; it should also reach to the needy farmers.
Third, India have to increase its irrigation facilities specially in south western region. A country depending on monsoon can’t feed a billion plus population with limited irrigated area. We need to put more resources in our agriculture sector. Though government has proposed Pradhanmantri Grameen Sinchai Yojna with 1000 crore allocation but we need a long term plan for this sector. Remember once our first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru said “Sab Cheez prateeksha kar sakti hai lekin krishi nahi.”
