Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare through ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad, has prepared detailed crop Contingency Plans for 650 districts.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
States have been advised for preparing, updating, and fine-tuning Contingency Plans for each district in consultation with CRIDA-ICAR and the State Agriculture Universities and to prepare location specific remedial measures based on these contingency plans in the event of late arrival of monsoon or long dry spells.
The State Governments are encouraged to initiate advance remedial action e.g. constructing water harvesting structures under MGNREGA and other such schemes, promoting agronomic practices for moisture conservation, promoting cultivation of less water consuming crops and restoring irrigation infrastructure.
States have been advised to keep aside about 5 to 10% of fund allocated under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) for undertaking appropriate interventions, informed the Minister.