Weatherman to come to farmers' rescue

Soon farmers would get a protective knowledge cover to save them from the vagaries of weather. They are going to get long term weather pattern predictions based on which they can firm up their cropping decisions.

For the present, the farmers suffer losses on account of unpredictable weather conditions – unforeseen excessive rain or excessive heat or cold. Most of the times, even after harvesting farmers lose crops due to rain.

Weather predictions coupled with agriculture practices knowledge would be given to the farmers – say for example if next May is expected to experience severe heat, the farming community would be suitably guided as to the schedule of sowing of seeds depending on the climatic reality that would then prevail.

This will mark the end of episodes when due to surplus productions of crops like potatoes rot and both farmers and consumers suffer adversely. Similarly, the new discoveries and on going work of scientists is aimed at overcoming the variations of projections by different departments over crop production in state.

Like if in future temperature or rainfall in any crop sowing season varies then farmers would be informed in advance with the suggestions to grow an alternative crop instead of the seasonal crops or sow the same crop seeds that are temperature tolerant varieties.

Agriculture scientists and experts of Indian Remote Sensing Applications (IRSA) have evolved models that would calculate the atmospheric conditions and its' compatibility with crops for different agro-climatic conditions in state.

Senior weather scientist at CSA University and Co-principal investigator of the project 'Development of crop weather yield models for different agro-climatic regions of Uttar Pradesh' Dr Anirudh Dubey told Hindustan Times that agriculture institute in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), agriculture institute in Faizabad, Jhasni, Meerut and experts of IRSA in Lucknow are working on the project jointly.

"Now farmers would be knowing about the weather conditions in advance. This will bolster the financial status of farmers and their produce as well. Besides, farmers would get the crop options round the year and can do crop planning well in advance," said Dr Dubey. He collected from CSA University shows that this year three different departments predicted about wheat yield across the state had different figures.

In 2010 State agriculture department had predicted the wheat production as 291.3 lakh tonne. IRSA had predicted 270.8 lakh tonne wheat production and agriculture scientists through modelling technique have calculated 294.2 lakh tonne wheat production this year in State.

"Now with the usage of different models like multiple co-relation model, thermal, dynamic, CERES, CHIK Grow, WT-Grow and DSSA T models both farmers and government would know in advance about exact prediction of production of various crop in different seasons," said Dr Dubey.

He substantiates that if there is prediction of 25 per cent less rainfall in the monsoon then farmers by not sowing paddy crop can eliminate the changes of getting damaged their crops.

Crops selected in the project are wheat, paddy, mustard, potato, maize, pigeon pea, gram, lentil, sugarcane, sorghum (jwar) and chickpea.