 "Agriculture ministry preparing for less rain")
With the forecast of monsoon rain revised downward, the Union ministry of agriculture has directed states to be ready with contingency plans.
Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan said rainfall would be only 88 per cent of the long-term average from the 93 per cent expected earlier, due to delay in its onset.
“In our early-season meetings with state secretaries, we asked them to increase seed availability by at least by 15 per cent, barring soybean. We have asked states to begin with contingency plans for short-duration crops wherever possible. Also, we have started taking regular updates,” said J S Sandhu, agricultural commissioner.
As against a total paddy seed requirement of 6.43 million tonnes, the government has estimated an availability of 7.38 mt. Total cereal seed availability is also estimated higher at 8.82 mt as against its requirement of 7.7 mt. Availability of oilseeds for sowing is expected to remain, however, lower by around 14 per cent, at 4.21 mt.
The Hyderabad-based Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture has identified rainfall-sensitive districts. “We have asked the respective states to concentrate more on these districts. As of now, rainfall forecasts and their slow advancement are not alarming. If the advancement is really slow for 15-20 days or distribution remains uneven, then we would think of an immediate contingency plan,” said Sandhu.
Seed companies have also begun preparing. “We are well prepared for meeting demand, although last year was tough for seed production, due to a deficient monsoon. With this and increase in various input costs, the cost of production of seeds has gone up significantly. However, prices would remain stable for most crops, given the current general scenario of agricultural produce prices being relatively sluggish,” said Raju Barwale, managing director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company.
He says he expects the monsoon to be normal, with no significant change in seed demand this year.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, farmers have started shifting their crops from rain-dependent crops. “The shift has been happening from paddy to maize, soyabean to maize, cotton to maize and even from jute to maize,” K Niranjan Kumar, governing council member of the National Seed Association of India, with about 300 member-companies, told Business Standard
Despite issues such as the increased operational costs for seed companies and power and water shortage problems in traditional seed growing regions, Kumar said, “We are confident that there will be not shortfall of seeds for any major crops.”
Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan said rainfall would be only 88 per cent of the long-term average from the 93 per cent expected earlier, due to delay in its onset.
“In our early-season meetings with state secretaries, we asked them to increase seed availability by at least by 15 per cent, barring soybean. We have asked states to begin with contingency plans for short-duration crops wherever possible. Also, we have started taking regular updates,” said J S Sandhu, agricultural commissioner.
As against a total paddy seed requirement of 6.43 million tonnes, the government has estimated an availability of 7.38 mt. Total cereal seed availability is also estimated higher at 8.82 mt as against its requirement of 7.7 mt. Availability of oilseeds for sowing is expected to remain, however, lower by around 14 per cent, at 4.21 mt.
The Hyderabad-based Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture has identified rainfall-sensitive districts. “We have asked the respective states to concentrate more on these districts. As of now, rainfall forecasts and their slow advancement are not alarming. If the advancement is really slow for 15-20 days or distribution remains uneven, then we would think of an immediate contingency plan,” said Sandhu.
Seed companies have also begun preparing. “We are well prepared for meeting demand, although last year was tough for seed production, due to a deficient monsoon. With this and increase in various input costs, the cost of production of seeds has gone up significantly. However, prices would remain stable for most crops, given the current general scenario of agricultural produce prices being relatively sluggish,” said Raju Barwale, managing director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company.
He says he expects the monsoon to be normal, with no significant change in seed demand this year.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, farmers have started shifting their crops from rain-dependent crops. “The shift has been happening from paddy to maize, soyabean to maize, cotton to maize and even from jute to maize,” K Niranjan Kumar, governing council member of the National Seed Association of India, with about 300 member-companies, told Business Standard
Despite issues such as the increased operational costs for seed companies and power and water shortage problems in traditional seed growing regions, Kumar said, “We are confident that there will be not shortfall of seeds for any major crops.”
Industry sources said that, the seed production has been expanded into the new states such as MP and Odisha as compared to the heavy concentration of seed production activity in the regions of the undivided AP in the past.