contingency preparedness interface meetings for Maharashtra and Telengana

NEW DELHI: ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture  along with DAC organized contingency preparedness interface meetings with Officials of Agricultural Departments of Telangana  and Maharashtra at CRIDA Campus, Hyderabad and at Department of Agriculture, Pune respectively.

The purpose of these meetings was to appraise the seasonal monsoon forecast and to prepare the action plans based on district contingency plans available for meeting the agricultural contingencies in the eventuality of deficient rainfall during kharif season based on IMD Monsoon forecast for Kharif, 2015.

Interface meeting held at CRIDA, Hyderabad for Telangana was attended by Pardhasaradhi,  Principal Secretary (Agriculture),  Priyadarshini, Commissioner of Agriculture and Director for Agriculture,  Praveen Rao, Vice Chancellor, ICAR Local Institutes Directors, Director of Research/Director of Extension, Divisional and District Heads of Agriculture Departments,  and Zonal Project Directors, Project Coordinators of KVKs, representatives from seed sector, insurance company and CRIDA-Agricultural Contingency Cell (ACC) scientists.

Interface meeting jointly organized by CRIDA and Department of Agriculture for Maharasthtra at Pune was attended by  Vikash Deshmukh, Commissioner of Agriculture, Govt of Maharashtra,  K V, Deshmukh, Director of Agriculture, Joint Director of Agriculture for all the districts, other line departments of horticulture, livestock, Directors of Research and Directors of Extension of different Agriculture Universities, Program coordinators of KVKs, Chief Scientists of AICRPDA and AICRPAM centres, CRIDA Scientists, Directors, ICAR Local Institutes and  specialists of IMD, Seed Sector.

Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, CRIDA presented the existing District Contingency Plans prepared by ICAR in association with SAUs, the role of contingency plans for coping deficient monsoon conditions, delay in on-set of monsoon and  mid-season and terminal droughts.

Issues related to alternate seed varieties, quantity available, identification of contingency crops and their seed availability, fertilizer requirement etc. were discussed in detail.  In addition, resource conservation measures which need to be taken up as ‘must do practices’ were discussed which can be implemented under existing developmental programs such as RKVY, micro Irrigation etc.