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Stormy weather impacts rabi crop amid shortages

By, New Delhi
Mar 22, 2023 03:01 AM IST

Stormy weather that tore through several food bowl states over the past week has impacted rabi (winter-sown) crops including wheat in several pockets, a top central government official on Tuesday said.

Stormy weather that tore through several food bowl states over the past week has impacted rabi (winter-sown) crops including wheat in several pockets, a top central government official on Tuesday said, while pointing to a ready pool of disaster-relief funding that local governments can disburse without the Centre’s approval to help tide over losses to farmers.

Stormy weather impacts rabi crop amid shortages. (HT Photo)
Stormy weather impacts rabi crop amid shortages. (HT Photo)

There are only “eye estimates” at this juncture, while video conferencing is being held to assess the situation, the official said. States are in the process of surveying the impact of nearly a week of storms, rain, and hail.

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“The Centre will consider additional compensation to farmers from its own disaster-relief funds after evaluation of reports from states and if they so demand,” the official said.

Also read: Rainfall likely in these states today, fresh spell from March 23

“Some pockets appear to be highly affected, some partially affected, and others moderately impacted,” a scientist of the state-run Indian Council of Agriculture Research said, adding that there are no official estimates yet.

The heaviest impact to crops, such as wheat, oilseeds and chickpeas, occurred in Rajasthan, western Madhya Pradesh and northern Gujarat, the expert said. These areas received the heaviest rain and hail, accompanied with strong winds.

Rajasthan, largely assumed to be a desert state, is a farm powerhouse and the largest producer of spices, and also substantially produces wheat and mustard. Cumin crops have been widely hit in the state, Ram Avtar Singh, a farmer from Churu said.

The chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana reviewed the crop situation on Monday and Tuesday, as farmers reported flattened fields, grain loss and inundation, an official cited in the first instance said. Uttar Pradesh has decided that compensation will be given as survey reports come in. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the CM of Andhra Pradesh, too, held a review on Monday.

Partial damage to crops, such as wheat and oilseeds, would have occurred in Punjab and Haryana, while Uttar Pradesh faced moderate impacts based on preliminary ground reports and satellite data, the scientist cited above said.

Both state governments and the Centre have disaster-relief funds. The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) is available with state governments as immediate aid to deal with notified disasters like floods, cyclones or drought. The Centre contributes 75% of the allocation to SDRF and 90% for special category states in two equal instalments, as fixed by as the 15th Finance Commission.

Besides, the Centre is empowered to provide additional funds from its National Disaster Response Fund to states after detailed memorandums are received.

Adequate harvests are critical this year amid wheat shortages and high food inflation. Retail cereal prices climbed 16.73% in February, against a rise of 16.12% in January. India has forecast a wheat output of 112.3 million tonnes, the highest ever. Harvesting is due by month-end.

Despite forecasts of early heatwaves, crop-shrivelling hot spells have not struck any wheat-growing state in March so far, barring pockets of Gujarat and Konkan in western India. Yet, the weather took a turn around mid-March, as gale-force winds and precipitation over the past week battered most states in the country.

“[The early damage assessment] is consistent with patterns of localised impacts. Rajasthan bore the worst impact, along with parts of Madhya Pradesh and pockets of Gujarat bordering Rajasthan,” said Mahesh Palawat, a meteorologist with private forecaster Skymet, adding the weather firm had flagged the oncoming storms in forecasts.

Also read: Weather woes at the ITF $25K Men’s Open

“We had updated official forecast, warning of western disturbances. Agri-met advisories had been issued to farmers accordingly,” an official from the India Meteorological Department said, requesting anonymity.

On Tuesday, Jatin Singh of Skymet, said rainy spells will continue for the next 15 days in Uttar Pradesh, while the weather firm said another rain-bearing system will heat the northwestern food bowl states on March 23 evening.

“Wheat quality in Madhya Pradesh has been hit. Overall, it looks like 5-10% of the state experienced wheat production loss,” said Gaurav Kochar, a trader and agri-warehousing expert.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Zia Haq reports on public policy, economy and agriculture. Particularly interested in development economics and growth theories.

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