Centre forms crisis groups for Kharif crops
Amid forecasts of a below-normal monsoon due to El Nino, the Centre on Monday said the Agriculture Ministry has formed crop weather watch and crisis management groups, besides circulating a crisis management plan to State Governments, to mitigate risks to kharif crops.
The Inter-Ministerial briefing, held in the context of recent developments in West Asia, also addressed concerns around food and fertiliser security.
States have been asked to maintain a seed reserve of one per cent, with emphasis on short and medium-duration varieties.
Fertiliser stocks stand at 51 per cent of requirement for the kharif season — well above the conventionally maintained 33 per cent —owing to advance stocking and improved logistics management. The India Meteorological Department’s latest southwest monsoon forecast stands at about 90 per cent of normal, flagging a below-normal season and heightened crop-risk pressure, particularly if El Nino conditions strengthen later in the season.
“A crop weather watch group has been constituted and meets every Monday to study rainfall patterns, sowing progress, reservoir status, input availability, pest incidence and price trends,” said Anupam Mishra, Additional Secretary, Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry. A separate crisis management group comprising relief commissioners and state disaster management authorities has also been set up.
The agriculture ministry is preparing district contingency plans in collaboration with ICAR and holding regular video-conference interactions with State officials on monsoon preparedness.
Factoring in the El Nion outlook, the agriculture ministry has revised fertiliser demand estimates downward. Urea demand for the kharif 2026-27 crop year is pegged at 194 lakh tonne, lower by 4 lakh tonne, while di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) demand has been cut by 6 lakh tonne to 60 lakh tonne.
Domestic fertiliser production stood at 104.81 lakh tonne post the West Asia crisis, with imports of 27.62 lakh tonne, taking total additions to availability to approximately 132.43 lakh tonne, said Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary, Fertiliser Ministry. The country has also secured 25 lakh tonne of urea and 50 lakh tonne of DAP from sources outside the Strait of Hormuz, with arrivals expected in June–July. A global tender for 70 lakh tonne of urea is currently under process.
On the food security front, wheat stocks stand at 513 lakh tonne against the buffer norm of 275 lakh tonne as on July 1, while rice stocks are at 397 lakh tonne against the norm of 135 lakh tonne, said C Shikha, Joint Secretary, Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
Prices of cereals, pulses and sugar have remained stable, while potato, onion, and tomato prices are range-bound, with no unusual volatility reported in essential commodities, Mishra added.
Edible oil availability remains adequate, supported by regular imports from Indonesia and Malaysia (palm oil), Russia and Ukraine (sunflower oil), and Argentina and Brazil (soyabean oil) - largely through unaffected trade routes via the Strait of Malacca and the Indian Ocean.
