El Nino effect: Centre says 111 districts with ‘poor irrigation facilities’ are a concern

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a high-level meeting with State Agriculture Ministers and officials on the El Niño situation, which has resulted in delayed monsoon so far. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Chouhan said rainfall so far was about 43% below normal. The Center has assessed 315 districts as vulnerable and 111 districts in 12 States as being of primary concern due to inadequate irrigation facilities. “We are preparing in advance. We do not expect a crisis,” the minister said, adding that every 315 districts will have an emergency plan to face the climate challenge.

The meeting was attended by Agriculture Ministers of the States, senior officials, district collectors of sensitive areas, experts from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and officials of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and the India Meteorological Department. Citing IMD forecasts, he said rainfall is likely to remain weak even in the week ending July 2. “This could directly impact Kharif crops, especially in rain-fed regions where agriculture is heavily dependent on monsoon rains,” he said. Mr. Chouhan argued that the government did not expect conditions to worsen and was proactively implementing scientific planning and field-level interventions to minimize the impact and protect farmers’ livelihoods.

“Around 315 districts have been identified as potentially affected by weak monsoon conditions. Of these, 111 districts [20 of these districts are in Maharasthra] Irrigation coverage below 25% is classified as high priority. The minister told reporters that 76 more districts fall in the medium priority category where irrigation coverage is between 25 and 50%, while 128 districts are classified as low priority due to relatively better irrigation facilities through dams and other sources.

The districts are located in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He added that the District Agriculture Emergency Plans prepared by ICAR include region-specific climatic conditions, crop patterns, water resources and risk factors and envisage measures such as alternative products suitable in low rainfall conditions, product diversification strategies, optimum use of existing water resources and additional income opportunities to reduce risks. “Detailed discussions were held with the Agriculture Ministers and District Collectors of these states and it was requested to accelerate preparedness at the local level,” he said.

“Water conservation and harvesting efforts under MGNREGA and upcoming rural development programs like VB-GRAMG should be prioritized so that employment generation and increasing water storage capacity can go hand in hand,” he said.

He warned that the severely weakened monsoon could lead to fodder shortage for livestock. “To eliminate this possibility, advanced supply plans are being prepared to transport feed from areas with feed surplus to areas with shortage. Feed stocking, alternative feed sources and supply chains are planned in advance to prevent sudden disruptions of livestock owners,” he said.