Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today held a high-level review meeting over the possible impact of El Niño. Talking to reporters in New Delhi after the meeting, Mr Chouhan said the Central Government had begun preparations to tackle the challenge of El Niño as early as April this year. He said the sowing, crop, and market conditions are being continuously monitored through the El Niño Monitoring Cell, the Crop Weather Watch Group, state control rooms, and nodal officers. He said, due to the rainfall across several states over the last 3 to 4 days, the number of districts facing a rainfall deficit has dropped from 262 to 178. The Minister said, last year, sowing had taken place in over 442 lakh hectares, while till yesterday, sowing had been completed in around 351 lakh hectares. Mr Chouhan added that due to the delay in monsoon, sowing of tur, soybean, cotton, and other crops has been affected. He has advised farmers to prioritise short-duration crops like maize, bajra, and moong, which require less time and water.
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