The rainfall deficit in Maharashtra stood at 39 per cent as on date and the monsoon is expected to pick up in the state during the month of July, as per IMD. While Konkan region has received above normal rainfall, it has been deficient in other regions namely Marathwada, Vidharbha and Madhya Maharashtra, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said in a release. However, considering the fact that over the next two weeks rainfall is likely to be either normal or above normal, the outlook is quite optimistic, it said.
A meeting to review the drought preparedness and Kharif activities including progress of sowing in Maharashtra was held under the co-chairmanship of Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary (Extension), DA&FW, Govt. of India and Sunil Chavan, Commissioner of Agriculture, Govt. of Maharashtra in Commissionerate of Agriculture, Pune. Besides, the implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Central Sector Schemes in Agriculture was reviewed in detail in the presence of all the concerned scheme nodal officers of the State. The progress of monsoon in the state and forecast for the month of July 2023 was reviewed.
During the meeting, Dilip Zende, Director of Agriculture, Govt. of Maharashtra, also highlighted the measures being undertaken for drought preparedness in the state. It was acknowledged that all the instructions of the Central Government for drought preparedness have been received by Maharashtra and that planning is underway accordingly and that necessary steps will be taken from time to time as per need.
Contingency plans for every District have been prepared with the help of four SAUs in the state, CRIDA and KVKs and communicated to all field functionaries i.e. Joint Directors of Agriculture, District Agriculture Officers and also the District Collectors. As on July 03, 2023, 20.60 lakh ha of area has been sown in the state and is expected to further pick up over the next few days. Soybean and cotton are major kharif crops in the state followed by pulses and paddy, the ministry said. As far as implementation of Central schemes is concerned, Maharashtra state has implemented Per Drop More Crop scheme and subsidy has been distributed to 1,27,627 beneficiary farmers and an area of 1,12,000 ha land has been brought under irrigation in the year 2022-23.