New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a coalition of about 200 farmer organisations from across the country, has raised concern over the possibility of a ‘second consecutive drought in large parts of the country’.
The monsoon has made slow progress in its early days and the rainfall deficit is 43% from the long period average, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on June 20.
Coupled with the previous monsoon, which recorded a 9% deficit last season with larger deficits in many parts, a weak monsoon this year could lead to a difficult situation with around 46% of the country already suffering from drought, according to IIT Gandhinagar’s drought early warning system – a real time drought monitoring too.
“Clearly we are looking at what could turn into a national emergency,” the AIKSCC said in a press release.
It also pointed to the low water levels in major reservoirs in the country. The situation is particularly severe in Andhra Pradesh with storage 83% below normal, Maharashtra at 68% below average and Tamil Nadu at 41% below normal.
Also read: Exclusive: Centre’s Crop Insurance Scheme Fails the Drought Test, 40% Claims Unpaid
“There are widespread media reports about water crisis forcing exodus from villages, wilting away of standing horticultural crops, death of cattle and local conflicts over water sharing. This has naturally affected sowing,” the AIKSCC noted.
Compared to 2018, kharif sowing till June 14 was down 9%. The sowing of pulses was the worst affected as it was 50% below the level of sowing at the same time last year. Oil seed sowing is 41% lower while paddy and coarse cereals are down 22% and 27% respectively.
In light of this situation and the risk of a weak monsoon in the coming months, the AIKSCC has urged the government to not delay declaring a drought. Instead, the government should declare a drought in all those districts were sowing has been affected by more than 50% in the month of June, according to the AIKSCC.
Also read: Monsoon Arrives in Kerala After a Week’s Delay
The farm body has also demanded that a special national package should be announced by the Centre, input subsidy should be revised to Rs 10,000 per acre for unirrigated land, and the number of days of employment should be increased to 150 under MNREGS.
The AIKSCC has also noted that the delays in payment under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) must be addressed and full and timely payment must be ensured.
The Wire had recently reported that for kharif 2018, a season impacted by rainfall deficit in monsoon of 2018, 40% of claims under crop insurance remain unpaid as of May 2019, more than three months after the last date on which they should have been paid.