‘Govt has enough food stocks despite drought’

NEW DELHI: First the drought and then the floods in a gap of just three months have hit prospects of food crops, mainly rice and pulses, but india has adequate reserves to tackle the situation, according to Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen.

���The drought had a severe impact on rice production and now the production of pulses will also be low because of the floods,��� Mr Sen said. India produced 99.2 million tonnes of rice and 14.7 million tonnes of pulses in the 2008-09 season.

Already, apprehensions about the fate of paddy and pulse crops have set the prices spiralling. While rice prices have gone up by about 25% in the last four months for preferred varieties, those of pulses, especially tur, have surged by 50% to as high as Rs 90 a kg.

Ironically, now floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, considered the worst in decades for the southern region, have severely damaged crops, compounding the worries of farmers as well as consumers.

Mr Sen, however, stressed the drought and subsequent flood will not have serious impact on the country���s food security as the Centre has enough food reserves.