International Workshop on Agrometerological Risk Management begins in New Delhi

A three-day International Workshop on “Agrometeorological Risk Management : Challenges and Opportunities” began in New Delhi today. Inaugurating the Workshop, Planning Commission Member, Prof. V.L. Chopra stressed the need to provide agromet information to the farmers.

He said the recent occurrences of adverse weather episodes have underlined the need for providing financial security to farmers. Evolving objective methods for insurance coverage based on weather parameters is gaining popularity. Shri Chopra said India with its rich repository of weather/climate data is an ideal place to seriously consider weather-based agricultural insurance schemes and other allied financial instruments. It would, however, require enforcement of stricter standards of meteorological observations and enhancement of agro-meteorological observational network. He said reinsurance and other financial safeguards should also be considered simultaneously. These issues need to be examined more rigorously before implementation to ensure that farmers are benefited to the maximum. He said that technological management must be cautious in not destroying the agro-environment while increasing productivity.

Shri Chopra suggested for preparing necessary data on the prevalent state and stage of all important crops since weather induced stresses and pests and diseases vary with crop growth stages. Thus, the effectiveness of agromet advisories depends on the timely input of all relevant crop and weather data. It calls for a multi disciplinary approach and coordination between research and operational wings of meteorological and agricultural institutions, he added.

Addressing the delegates Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Shri P.S. Goel pointed out that the greatest challenge now is to provide credible weather forecast to the farmers. He said the weather inputs should go directly to the farmers to save them from dangerous situations. The workshop is being attended by 160 participants from 78 countries. It will be followed by the 14th session of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) from October 28 to November 3, 2006, which will review ongoing activities and will establish priorities and strategies for the next four years. All the crucial aspects of Agricultural Meteorology will be discussed during the meeting of the Commission for providing better services to the farming community.

Source : Press Information Bureau
Date : October 25, 2006