Drought shifts hopes to winter crop

With rainfall deficient in two-thirds of the country and the main sowing window for kharif already over,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference...

With rainfall deficient in two-thirds of the country and the main sowing window for kharif already over,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference of state Chief Secretaries here today that while the bumper crop over the last two years has helped build a foodgrain cushion,the government wont hesitate to take strong measures and intervene in the market if need be.

Citing agrarian distress across the country because of inadequate rain,the PM asked for active cooperation from state governments. In fact,both Singh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar sought to look ahead at post-kharif strategies,including prompt procurement of kharif production,and,more importantly,fast-forwarding preparations for the next rabi crop (November to March).

The Government has adequate stocks due to a record procurement of 253 lakh tonnes of wheat and 323 lakh tonnes of rice last year. However,Singh and Pawar underlined the need for action. The key points they made:

 Need to start planning for the coming rabi season so that we are able to increase rabi production to compensate for the loss in kharif (June to October). So the Agriculture Ministry will advance rabi preparatory meetings. Pawar will meet state agriculture ministers on August 21 after a meeting of state Secretaries called by Union Fertiliser Secretary Atul Chaturvedi.

 If rainfall remains deficient,sources who were present in the meeting said,the focus would be on eastern UP,Bihar,Jharkhand and West Bengal for early rabi sowing.

 The Prime Minister suggested that states focus on compensatory production in areas that have got adequate rainfall; work on saving the standing crop and look at alternative crop sowing in rain-deficient regions.

 State governments should also intervene in procurement of paddy and wheat to supplement the Centres efforts,the PM said.

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 To check increase in prices of essential commodities,the PM said,the Centre and states have to activise the public distribution system, and take strong action against hoarding and the black market.

 To dampen inflationary pressures,Pawar said,the Centre would undertake open market intervention whenever required. Pawar attributed the surge in pulse prices to speculative tendencies rather than just a supply-demand gap.

 Both suggested using the job guarantee scheme as relief and a tool to create assets to benefit agriculture. Sources in the Rural Development Ministry said the Ministry has sent a 12-point programme to state governments to intensify the NREGA in drought-affected districts.

The Chief Secretaries were also advised to constantly monitor availability of fodder and cattle health requirements and were asked to set up camps to protect livestock,a crucial source of livelihood for the rural poor.