Government steps up drought relief plans

Officially conceding that the agricultural scene in many parts of the country is causing concern due to the lack of rains, the Centre has finally advised the concerned states to immediately arrange for the supply of drinking water and fodder in the drought-hit tracts. It has also asked Rajasthan, where substantial area is likely to remain unsown, to prepare for drought-relief employment programmes.

The areas causing maximum disquiet include north Gujarat and Saurashtra in Gujarat, Marathwada and parts of Vidharba in Maharashtra and almost the whole of Rajasthan. Crop sowing in these tracts is lagging behind and, in many areas, the farmers have had to re-sow their fields.

The bulk of Rajasthan is likely to remain crop-free for want of moisture.

There is disquiet also about the condition of standing crops in the north-western agricultural belt.

This is the assessment of the agriculture ministry after the three-day visit of Agriculture Secretary Radha Singh to rain-starved parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. She had wide-ranging discussions with the chief ministers of these states and reviewed the preparedness to deal with the emerging difficult situation.

However, the agriculture ministry refrains from commenting on kharif production prospects as nearly one-and-half month of active monsoon season still remains.

But the National Crop Forecasting Centre (NCFC), which monitors the progress of the monsoon and crop sowing every week, has categorically stated that the sowing of kharif coarse grains and pulses has slowed down markedly due to erratic monsoon rainfall.

"The standing kharif crops are subjected to moisture stress to a varying degree at many places in north-west India and central India," the NCFC has reported.

In oilseeds, though the area planted so far is higher than in the corresponding period last season, but further sowing is held up in some states, especially Madhya Pradesh, due to break in the monsoon.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has, in its latest advisory issued today, advised the farmers in Rajasthan to cut down the crops that have reached senescence stage (no chance of recovery) and use them as fodder to save cattle.

They should keep these fields ready for sowing some multi-cut fodders (such as napier hybrid and guinea grass), if the rains revive before August 15. In case of an early revival (for which the chances are slim), the farmers can go in for pulses like mothbean and guar.

For areas where some scattered rains have occurred in the past couple of days, such as in the central India and parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and Chhatisgarh, the farmers have been advised to apply the second dose of fertilisers to the surviving crops and plant fresh seedlings to replace the withered ones to fill the gaps in the crop stand.

Sugarcane growers in the rain-starved tracts have been advised to uproot alternate rows and use them as animal fodder. This will help improve the survival prospects of the left over crop.