Farmers now need not worry about erratic rains
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra: In the villages of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, farmers are always a worried lot. For three years in a row, prior to 2005, they had to experience the vagaries of the monsoon leading to drought-like situations.
“We could not grow any crops. Had we known in advance the likelihood of a delay in the monsoon, we would have made alternate arrangements,” says Vishnupant Domale, a farmer of Mhaswandi village, who grows tomatoes, onions and pomegranates on his 10-acre plot when there are no seasonal setbacks. While the rains will continue to remain an unpredictable factor, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is now gearing up to set up an advanced communication system that will help farmers judge weather patterns 10 days in advance. This is the minimum time period required for farmers to plan their sowing patterns. The decision of MoES to establish 600 district agricultural extension centres and 6 lakh village-level crop service centres in the country with multi-channel communication facility was announced during a technical session held in Pune in January 2008. “These centres, to be set up over the next two years, will advice farmers on weather related agriculture,” informs P.S. Goel, secretary, MoES. The technical conference was to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the Agricultural Meteorology Department (AMD) of the Pune-based India Meteorology Department (IMD). Towards complete modernisation Aiming to completely modernise the existing system, Goel states that this will help provide information about the weather 10 days in advance through the compilation of data received from various agencies. As part of the programme, hundreds of crop weather models will be developed for different locations and crops of the country jointly by IMD, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state agricultural universities. According to A.L. Koppar, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, AMD, “Initially forecasts with days lead time for agro-climatic zones as well as district level of the country would be prepared and issued as part of the overall plan.” Most importantly, the communication links between the agencies and the farmers will be improved so that the latter do not lose out on vital information that is crucial for ensuring proper planning and profitable farming. An executive headquarter of the national agromet service has already been established in the AMD. The agro meteorological service centres of IMD will be responsible for translating weather forecasts into farm advisories. “The requisite information will be disseminated through district level agriculture offices, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural technology management agencies and NGOs,” says Koppar. At present, IMD has 230 advisory centres in the country. As to how this will be of practical and timely help is best illustrated through a panchayat meeting that was held in Darewadi village of Maharashtra where farmers felt that a 10-day prediction will certainly enable them to stock up on water supply should there be any chance of fluctuation in the monsoon. “Significantly, warning about impending storms or other destructive forces will certainly enable us to take adequate precautions,” says Shyam Mhasoba, who grows potatoes, cabbage and radish on his farm. As an illustration of the useful of such a system, Mhasoba points out the current sharp drop in temperature across Maharashtra because of the northerly winds that affected the plantation of grapes. “We would not have suffered losses had we known that there was going to be such a fluctuation in the weather pattern. Further, the mango plantation is similarly vulnerable during the summer because a sudden thunderstorm can destroy the crop,” he states. |
User comments
"Weather Warning System"Author:
santakar chelapila
Time: 09.03.2008 08:04
Comment: Great News . it would help the farmers in minimising the losses due to adverse seasonal conditions . However it need to be properly channelised .Wishing a success for the process .
With regards Ssantakar journalist Koraput Orissa Please visit: www.koraputonline.blogspot.com |
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