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DROUGHT IS LIKE pregnancy; you cannot hide it for long. After fighting shy of recognising the rapidly advancing dry conditions for over a fortnight early this month (and losing precious lead time), the government is now readying itself to combat what could be the most widespread drought since 1987. Seven weeks into the 16-week south-west monsoon cycle, less than one-third of the 523 districts in the country, have received normal rains. Agricultural operations in several regions have come to a standstill. Farmers are waiting for rains, either to save the crop already planted or for sowing alternative short-duration crops. Apart from imminent loss of farm output, serious concern is now developing over falling reservoir levels, threat of drinking water shortage and fodder supplies for livestock.

Representatives of a dozen States who met the Union Agriculture Minister have presented a grim picture of the kharif crop conditions. Even allowing for some exaggeration (for obvious reasons) in their status report, large parts of central and northern India are indeed acutely moisture-stressed and the fear of a setback to kharif output is indeed real. On current reckoning, oilseeds, pulses, coarse grains and cotton crops are the worst hit. Even in the best of times these produce are in short supply and imports help augment availability. It would be necessary to ensure uninterrupted supplies of essential food items to farmers whose crops have failed. Having taken cognisance of the ongoing devastation wrought on agriculture, the Government has announced a preliminary relief package for farmers, which includes use of the Calamity Relief Fund, deferment of debt recovery and payment of cane arrears by sugar mills. By themselves the measures are welcome, but far from adequate to ameliorate the severity of a large dent in rural incomes.

Admittedly, drought conditions are nothing new for the country; we had regional droughts as late as in 1999 and 2000. Although this time the geographical spread is much wider, large buffer stocks of rice and wheat are a source of strength. It is necessary to cut bureaucratic red-tape and strengthen the food delivery system in rural areas. The Panchayat Raj institutions should be involved in overseeing a targeted Public Distribution System. Schemes such as Antyodaya Anna Yojana (intended to provide highly subsidised foodgrains to the poorest of poor), Food-for-Work Programme and so on should be implemented with greater vigour. State governmentsmust work alongside the Central ministries concerned to ensure focussed attention on the target group. More importantly, the policy-makers must start working on measures to improve the next rabi crop prospects. A satisfactory rabi harvest across the country can mitigate hardship and help bring back some cheer among the farming community. Assuming return of normal weather, making seeds and other inputs available for the next planting season in October/November must receive priority alongside relief work. The coming months are sure to provide a challenging time for the policy-makers and administrators and, hopefully, they will rise to the occasion.

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Taming the drought

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