El Nino impact on kharif production unlikely to be significant, says Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The impact of El Nino on kharif production is unlikely to be significant this year as the gap in sowing has narrowed and rainfall has been adequate for crops in most parts of the country, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday.

"We don't see a huge impact of El Nino except in some places. The situation by and large remains good. Rainfall was sufficient to meet the full water needs of the crops," Chouhan said at a press conference after an event.

The minister said the shortfall in kharif sowing, which was 11 per cent last week, has narrowed and is expected to reduce further. He added that the situation was being reviewed regularly.


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Chouhan said deficient rainfall in some regions was unlikely to affect overall kharif output at this stage.

"As of now, we see no impact," he said, while noting that Karnataka and Telangana were facing water shortages. He said any impact was likely to remain limited to specific areas.

Kharif crops had been sown across 1,016.57 lakh hectares as of August 14, around 2 per cent below the area covered during the same period last year. The area sown was 92 per cent of the average for the season.

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According to India Meteorological Department data, rainfall was 12 per cent below normal for the country as of August 12. The deficit was 26 per cent in east and northeast India, 19 per cent in the south peninsula and 11 per cent in northwest India.

Chouhan said the number of districts vulnerable to rainfall-related concerns had fallen from 262 to around 100.

The minister also said the government has prepared draft versions of the Seeds Bill and the Pesticides Management Bill. Both are expected to be introduced in Parliament during the next session as part of agriculture sector reforms.

At an event at the Pusa complex earlier in the day, Chouhan administered a pledge to officials of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development ministries under the "Shakti ki Sapt Dhara" (Seven Streams of Empowerment) framework announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address.

The framework focuses on agriculture and food production, food processing and improving farmers' access to global markets.

He said the roadmap for the two ministries to contribute to the government's 'Viksit Bharat' vision for 2047 had been discussed with stakeholders and would be finalised soon.