Yogi govt ramps up efforts to safeguard crops from impending monsoon floods

Lucknow: Amid the ongoing heatwave and the approaching monsoon, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, has implemented a comprehensive plan to safeguard the state's crops.

The state government is ensuring that the farmers do not have to face any adverse situation due to seasonal changes and they get the benefit of all the schemes of the Central and State government, said a government spokesman.

In this sequence, work of issuing advisories based on technical recommendations given by the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) in 27 highly sensitive, 13 sensitive and 35 normal districts of the state in terms of floods is being given a concrete shape.

In light of the heatwave affecting the crops, the Chief Secretary has issued an advisory to Regional Agricultural Officers to protect crops from this seasonal outbreak. It is being implemented based on recommendations of a weather-based state-level agriculture advisory group (Crop Weather Watch Group).

The advisory encompasses various measures, including ensuring proper water drainage and moisture levels in paddy nurseries, employing mulching techniques, use of sprinkler and drip irrigation, regular light irrigation, and use of organic fertilisers and contour trench methods, including groundwater and rainwater conservation.

With the monsoon expected to be active soon in the state, a comprehensive strategy is being implemented to safeguard crops from potential floods.

The plan includes prioritising flood-resistant paddy varieties such as Swarna Sub-1, Sambha Masuri Sub-1, IR-64 Sub-1, and NDR-99301111, as well as implementing the Sanda method and transplanting rice from mid-June to early July.

Efforts are also underway to ensure comprehensive coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, with a focus on insuring crops at the gram panchayat level and extending its benefits to farmers. At the same time, the process of benefiting farmers through the Restructured Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme has also been started.

In this process, banana, chilli and betel leaves have been given priority as insured Kharif crops and tomato, capsicum, green peas and mango have been given priority as Rabi crops.

The last date for getting crop-wise insurance is June 30 for banana and betel, July 31 for chili, November 30 for tomato, bell pepper, and green pea, and December 15 for mango.