A plan for the Winter Crop

Why in the News?

The Rabi conference was recently held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), to discuss about the problems and prospects of rabi crops in the upcoming winter season.

India’s food production:

1. The Indian monsoon (June to September) recorded a 5.6% deficit rainfall compared to the long-period average (LPA).
2. Despite wide deviation in its temporal spread (August- driest month since 1901) the area planted under paddy and sugarcane is higher by 1.9 per cent and 7.64 per cent respectively, compared to the preceding year.
3. However, area under pulses decreased by 4.2%.
4. The Mustard production jumped by 37% which helped to tackle the import crisis of palm and sunflower oil.

The Rabi Conference:

1. Adequate fertiliser stocks to take care of the demand of the rabi season.
2. Wheat, the main rabi crop which is susceptible to heat wave, can be tackled with the release of numerous heat-resistant wheat varieties.

• This shall cover roughly 60% of the sown area, up from 45% last year.
• Of the 2,200 varieties of different crops released by India’s agri-research system in the last 9 years, 1,800 are climate resilient.

3. To prioritise agro-ecological based crop planning for diversion of land from excess commodities like rice and wheat to deficit commodities like oilseeds and pulses and high value export earning crops.
4. Increase area of cropping through

• Inter-cropping and crop diversification
• Productivity enhancement through introduction of HYVs
• Adoption of suitable agronomic practices in low yielding regions.

Shift from “production-centric” to a “food systems” approach:

1. Need better and more accurate estimates of production
2. Monitor the prices that farmers get
3. Monitor the progress of crops every week
4. Upgrade our patwari-based production estimate system to one that is based on high technology, which will help settle crop insurance claims.
5. Better technology and better policies rather than abrupt export bans/stocking limits.