No panic in Bengal but sources ?stretched?

The rains have improved post August 12 but the West Bengal government doesn?t know yet whether it will be enough to tide over an impending food crisis in the state. Production has dipped due to the truant monsoon and West Bengal may have to procure more wheat, pulses and oilseeds this fiscal.

?We have to procure more wheat, pulses and oil seeds this year,? says Naren De, State Agriculture Minister. According to state government estimates, food grain demand in the state is 491 gm/day/capita which adds up to 178 lakh tonnes per year. According to a report of the Directorate of Agricultural Evaluation wing, food grain requirement in the state is around 178 lakh tonnes while production is around 160 lakh tonnes. ?Actual demand is less as the estimate includes children and aged people who consume less,? says De.

Although agricultural production has suffered due to shortage in rainfall before August 12, districts like Birbhum and West Midnapore have recovered after the dry spell following good showers. ?Purulia is the worst hit,? says De. While Gangetic West Bengal had 41% deficit in rainfall in the last week of July this year, the week ending August 19 recorded a 25% deficit in rainfall.

While paddy cannot be sown this year on two lakh hectares against a target of 43 lakh hectares, shortage in Aman rice (Kharif crop) production will be around 10 lakh tonnes, say officials. The total rice production in the state in 2008-09 was 147.19 lakh tonnes and the target this year was 155.53 lakh tonnes. Earlier, the state government had contemplated increasing Boro cultivation to compensate the loss in Kharif production to some extent. But rainfall shortage is likely to disappoint farmers who are dependant on water from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and Mayurakshi & Kangsabati rivers. ?Last year the Boro crop was cultivated on 15 lakh hectares and water from DVC, Mayurakshi and Kangsabati fed 10% of the area. This year we are doubtful of that,? De points out. According to him, irrigation by shallow pumps cannot make up for the loss. ?It is not a crisis situation but the position is stretched a bit,? admits Sanjiv Chopra, Secretary of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, production of wheat, other cereals and pulses are also likely to suffer this year. Wheat is sown in the state over 3.52 lakh hectares while production is around 9.17 lakh tonnes. Other cereals are sown on 97,000 hectares while production is about 2.65 lakh tonnes. Pulses are sown on two lakh hectares and production stands at around 1.58 lakh tonnes. The state is planning to sow wheat, pulses and oil seeds on two lakh hectares where paddy could not be sown this year.

?Assessing the situation, the state started lifting entire allotment of wheat from Food Corporation of India (FCI),? says Biswambhar Basu, General Secretary of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation. In June this year the state lifted 1.6 lakh tonnes of wheat from FCI against an allotment of 1.59 lakh tonnes. ?Even then we will face shortage as the central government allotment has come down over the years,? he says.

Vegetables production in the state is unlikely to face a shortfall as the state has been producing in surplus for the past few years ? but cyclone Aila did cause heavy damage to crops, thus spoiling the statistic this year. Mohanta Chatterjee, State Food Processing Minister, says, ?We are not facing any shortage in vegetable production now. Initially, production was affected due to cyclone Aila followed by shortage of rainfall. But the situation has changed after mid-August.?

According to Chatterjee, vegetable production was affected in South 24 Parganas, parts of North 24 Parganas and Nadia due to Aila. ?The price rise in vegetables at present is due to a mismatch between demand and supply situations. Prices are likely to soften within a month following good showers,? he says.

The state produces 9.5 lakh tonnes of tomatoes, 20 lakh tonnes of cabbage, 16 lakh tonnes of cauliflower and 2.5 lakh tonnes of onion per year. While tomato is exported to north eastern states like Assam, other vegetables are exported to north Indian states. ?This year export to other states will be hit due to a dip in production,? says Chatterjee.