Some areas are still severely affected by erratic rains: Agriculture Minister says

Some areas are still severely affected by erratic rains: Agriculture Minister saysIndia may suffer a fall in overall agriculture production this year as there are still some areas that are severely affected by erratic rains, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said.

Addressing the dignitaries at the National Conclave on Micro-irrigation in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Pawar said that nearly 33 per cent of the country got deficient rains, which left many states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat in a crisis.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Pawar added, "There are still areas which are severely hit by erratic rains. Sowing and crop condition have been affected badly which may lead to a drop in overall production."

According to Mr. Pawar, rains were measured in 36 regions, of which 22 regions were found to be getting excess rains and 12 regions were found to be getting poor rains.

He added that the impact would be more noticeable in the production of pulses and coarse cereals where the acreage has fallen drastically.

After reviewing the situation in draught-hit areas of the country, the Empowered Group of Ministers on drought headed by Mr. Pawar increased the number of man-days in the rural job guarantee scheme from 100 to 150. The government also decided to provide an interest rebate of 5 per cent for crop loans.

It means India will have to import more eatables like pulses and cooking oil. For sugar-output, an industry body has already slashed forecast from 25.5 million tonnes to 24.5 million tones for the current year.