Lok Sabha Question No. 3143 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Agricultural Weather Forecast Services
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION No. 3143 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2019

## AGRICULTURAL WEATHER FORECAST SERVICES

## 3143. SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL :

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  strengthen  the Agricultural Weather Forecast Services to utilize advanced information technology to address the risk in agriculture sector and to provide early weather information to farmers;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  capacity  of  the  India Meteorological Department (IMD) to meet these challenges; and
- (c) the action taken by the Government for modernization and development of devices and equipments for publicity of accurate and region specific agricultural weather information at district level?

## ANSWER MINISTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) & (b) Yes Sir.  The  Government has introduced several latest information technologies  to  provide  information  to  the  farmers  on  agriculture related activities. India Metrological Department (IMD), under 'Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS)'scheme, issues district level weather forecasts for the next five days covering all the districts in the country. Based on the weather forecast, Agromet Advisories are prepared  in  collaboration  with  130  Agro-Meteorological  Field  Units (AMFUs) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). These advisories  are  communicated  to  the  farming  community  through multichannel  dissemination  systems  including  SMS  using  mobile phones. Such inputs help farmers to save their crops under adverse weather  situations  as  well  as  to  take  the  benefit  of  benevolent weather  condition  to  undertake  appropriate  farm  operations  to increase  yield.  Agromet  Advisories  are  also  issued  to  the  farmers through SMS during extreme weather events like hailstorm, cyclone, heavy  rainfall  etc.  so  as  to  minimize  the  crop  damages  due  to inclement weather, by taking preventive action. Based on Extended

Range  Forecasts  for  the  next  20-30  days,  the  Central  Research Institute  for  Dryland  Agriculture  (CRIDA)  in  collaboration  with  IMD, issues weekly National Agromet Advisory bulletin for the planners at Central and State levels, farmers and other organisations for preparedness to cope up with ensuing weather conditions for better crop management.

- (c) Currently, IMD is generating medium range weather forecasts at subdistrict  level  across  the  country  in  12km  x  12km  scale.  A  high resolution  (12  km  grid  scale)  state  of  the  art  Global  Ensemble Prediction System (EPS) namely Global Ensemble Forecasting System (GEFS) was commissioned on 01 June 2018 for generating operational  probabilistic  weather  forecasts  for  10  days  which  will enhance  the  weather  information  being  provided  by  the  current models  by  quantifying  the  uncertainties  in  the  weather  forecasts. IMD is taking continuous efforts to popularize the service among the farming community by organising Farmers' Awareness Programmes (FAPs)  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  IMD  along  with  the  experts from  AMFUs  also  participates  in  KisanMelas,  Farmers'  Day  etc.  to create  awareness  about  the  services  so  that  more  farmers  get benefitted.  Through  such  programmes,  details  of  more  number  of farmers  are  also  collected  for  enhancing  the  outreach.  Around  42 million  farmers  are  now  receiving  the  weather  information  and Agromet Advisories through SMS on regular basis.

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