This could be a year of great discomfort for farmers in Odisha. Fresh from a season when it posted a record 150 lakh metric tonnes food grains production, the state is now staring at headwinds. The south-west monsoon is already delayed and the projections are not good either. Forecast of a deficit rainfall in the monsoon core zone of which Odisha is a part, must worry the state government. According to the India Meteorological Department, the probability of below-normal monsoon rainfall is 43 percent. With the mega El Niño predicted to form during this critical period, the challenges can mount quickly unless timely measures are taken. Pre-monsoon rainfall has been below average and the farming community is already in a tizzy. Yet there is very little on-the-ground information campaign to sensitise farmers about what the season has in store.
Fact be told, if the long-term weather outlook holds, the government would have its hands full. Odisha’s tryst with natural calamities is well-known and if the monsoon fails, challenges would be far greater if the administration is not in a state of readiness. The scarcity of fertiliser is already being felt with the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative plant facing an ammonia shortage that has impacted production of diammonium phosphate and urea, due to the West Asia crisis. In another two months’ time, when agriculture activities would be at an advanced stage, things can really get out of hand.
Odisha has been a rice-focused state, so much so that it has led to a glut. Last kharif season, it procured well over 77 lakh MT paddy. The number of farmers who enrolled for the procurement went up to a record 18.85 lakh because the BJP government has been providing an additional input assistance of ₹800 per quintal over and above the MSP. While this has driven up the farmer participation, crop diversification has been hit. Under such circumstances, if the weather gods don’t shower mercy, the agriculture sector could be under tremendous pressure. At present, the confidence level on the ground is very low with price rise impacting the bottomline of farmers. Much of it can be controlled if the government firms up a comprehensive crisis management plan that includes both information and technical support for cultivators on the impending climate change risk and provides stage-by-stage guidance and insurance support. Routine advisory should be chucked; alacrity must be the need of the hour.