Lok Sabha Question No. 1666 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-06
Subject: Weather Consultation Service
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: KRISHN PRATAP SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1666

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/03/2018

## WEATHER CONSULTATION SERVICE

## 1666.  DR. KRISHAN PRATAP:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

(a) whether as per a study, better consultancy service regarding weather forecasting has made the country capable of producing more agriculture products and increasing the income of farmers and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether 75 per cent of farmers do not have reliable source of getting consultation regarding weather forecasting;

- (c) if so, the reasons therefor;

(d) whether the Government has constituted any committee for replacing some words such  as  'drought'  in  place  of  'year  receiving  less  and  very  less  rain  fall'  used  in  the weather forecasting by the Meteorological Department; and

(e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  number  of  States  which  have  been  declared  as fully or partially drought affected States?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f'k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h

## (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) IMD,  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES)  implements  an  operational  Agromet Advisory  Service  (AAS)  scheme viz .,  Gramin  Krishi  Mausam  Sewa  (GKMS)  for  the benefit  of  farming  community  in  the  country.  A  network  of  130  Agromet  Field  Units (AMFUs)  collocated  with  Indian  Council  of  Agriculture  Research  (ICAR),  State Agriculture  Universities  (SAUs)  and  other  institutions  is  providing  weather  forecast based AAS twice a week (Tuesday and Friday). AAS rendered by IMD in collaboration with ICAR, SAUs and other institutions is a step to weather information based crop and livestock management strategies and operations dedicated to enhancing crop production and  food  security.  As  per  the  feedback  from  diverse  sources,  the  annual  income  of marginal and small farmers have been increased significantly by using these services.

As per the recent survey by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), implementation of District level Agromet Advisory Services, India has seen improved agricultural performance in the rainfed farming, which covers 60% of the total arable land. As per the report, the incremental profit due to Agromet Advisory Services is assessed to be 25% of their net income. The study also suggests that the Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva has the potential  of  generating  net  economic  benefit  up  to  Rs.  3.3  lakh crores  on  the  4-principal  crops  alone  (wheat,  paddy,  sugarcane  and  cotton)  when Agromet Advisory Service is fully utilized by agriculture-dependent households.

NCAER, 2015: Economic Benefits of Dynamic Weather and Ocean Information and Advisory Services in India and Cost and Pricing of customized products and services of ESSO-NCMRWF & ESSO-INCOIS (2015).

(b) & (c): IMD  is  communicating  weather  information  and  agromet  advisories  to large  number  of  farmers  through  different  multi  channels  along  with  SMS  and  IVR technology  using  mobile  phones  through  Kisan  Portal  and  also  through  Public  Private Partnership (PPP) like IKSL, NOKIA-HCL, Reliance Foundation, Mahindra & Mahindra etc.  Presently, out of 94.5 million farmers, around 22.7 million farmers are receiving the information through SMS on regular basis which is approximately 25 per cent of the total farmers' house hold. IMD is also planning to cover the entire farming community in the country by involving all the state government functionaries, Extension and dissemination agencies etc.

(d) & (e): Yes,  A  committee  for  reviewing  the  terms  &  terminologies  of  weather forecasting and warnings was setup in  IMD during 2014. It was decided that henceforth the  term  drought  on  all  India  scale  shall  not  be  used.  In  its  place  the  term  'all  India deficient  rainfall  year'  will  be  used.  The  details  are  provided  in ANNEXURE-  I . 'During  2017-18,  three  States,  namely,  Chhattisgarh,  Madhya  Pradesh  and  Rajasthan, have submitted Memoranda intimating about drought of varying magnitude and seeking financial  assistance  from  National  Disaster  Response  Fund.'  (Based  on  input  from Drought  Management  Division,  Department  of  Agriculture  Cooperation  &  Farmers Welfare)

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## (I) For meteorological sub-division wise:

| Distribution         | %Dep. of Rainfall   |
|----------------------|---------------------|
| Large Excess (LE)    | +60% and above      |
| Excess (E)           | + 20% to +59%       |
| Normal (N)           | + 19% to - 19%      |
| Deficient (D)        | - 20% to - 59%      |
| Large deficient (LD) | - 60% or less       |
| No rain              | - 100%              |

## (II) Percentage departures on All India Seasonal Rainfall:

While  describing  rainfall  percentage  departures  of  all  India  monsoon  seasonal rainfall,  the  following  classification  may  be  used.  Description  of  rainfall  condition  as 'Drought' may be discontinued.

| Normal               | percentage departure of realized rainfall is within ± 10 % of the Long Period Average                       |
|----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Below Normal         | percentage departure of realized rainfall is < 10% of the Long Period Average                               |
| Above Normal         | percentage departure of realized rainfall is > 10% of the Long Period Average                               |
| Deficient Year       | When the rainfall deficiency is more than 10% and 20 to 40% area of the country is under drought conditions |
| Large deficient year | When the rainfall deficiency is more than 10% and when the spatial coverage of drought is more than 40%     |

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