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The Centre is afloat prepared to mitigate immoderate adverse interaction of the El Nino upwind phenomenon connected this year's kharif crop, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said connected Thursday (May 28, 2026), arsenic helium called for integrated farming and greater self-reliance successful pulses and oilseeds.
"Rather than worrying, mentation is required. Contingency plans volition beryllium made for affected districts and harvest changes volition beryllium considered wherever necessary," Mr. Chouhan told reporters connected the sidelines of the two-day National Kharif Conference successful New Delhi.
The Ministry is successful the process of identifying districts for alternate crops and ensuring effect availability successful the lawsuit of an El Nino impact, helium said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had, successful its first-stage forecast connected April 13, projected a below-normal southwest monsoon for 2026, with rainfall apt to beryllium astir 92% of the long-period average.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has indicated a probable instrumentality of El Nino conditions arsenic aboriginal arsenic May-July, portion the U.S.-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), successful its May 11 El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) update, said El Nino conditions are apt to look during May-June and persist done year-end.
El Nino, characterised by antithetic warming of aboveground waters successful the eastbound tropical Pacific Ocean, is typically associated with drier and hotter conditions successful India.
Kharif (summer) sowing has conscionable begun successful immoderate parts of India, but it is inactive successful the precise aboriginal stages. Farmers person started preparing fields for aboriginal sowing (especially of short-duration crops specified arsenic pulses, coarse cereals, and immoderate cotton) successful regions that person received pre-monsoon rains.
Normal Kharif sowing starts successful June and peaks successful June-July with the accomplishment and advancement of the southwest monsoon. Notwithstanding upwind challenges, India is connected way to execute a grounds foodgrain accumulation of 376.56 cardinal tonnes successful the 2025-26 harvest twelvemonth (July-June), an summation of 18.8 cardinal tonnes implicit the erstwhile year, Mr. Chouhan said.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General M.L. Jat noted that atom output targets acceptable for 2047 had already been met, underscoring the lawsuit for harvest diversification.
"We don't request 50 cardinal hectares nether rice. We request 35 cardinal hectares by 2047. If we person to offload 15 cardinal hectares, redirecting that to oilseeds and pulses could marque america self-reliant successful those crops," helium said.
Mr. Jat besides flagged that implicit 100 districts person been recovered to beryllium utilizing fertilisers beyond scientifically recommended levels, calling for a multi-pronged strategy that includes nutrient-efficient harvest breeding, greater usage of integrated and biologic inputs, and improved ungraded wellness management.
Seed prime and information ecosystem were flagged arsenic precedence areas. Delivering prime seeds to farmers unsocial could rise productivity by 15-20%, Mr. Jat said, urging each stakeholders — including State farms, cultivation universities, and ICAR institutions — to prioritise effect production.
He besides called for gathering a robust cultivation information ecosystem to enactment AI-driven interventions specified arsenic the Bharat Vistar platform.
Mr. Chouhan called for a unified attack nether "Team Agriculture — One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team," and warned that deficiency of seriousness astatine the State level would not beryllium tolerated. He said helium would constitute to Chief Ministers if State Agriculture Ministers were absent from specified conferences.
The Minister besides directed officials to guarantee timely effect organisation up of the monsoon, grow Kisan Credit Card coverage, expedite Farmer ID issuance, and instrumentality strict enactment against those selling spurious seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra said harvest diversification, cultivation self-reliance, and sustainability person go the government's halfway priorities, urging States to align their plans accordingly.
