(a) whether the Government has any plan to ensure that proper forecast of weather be
available to the farmers in the country: and
(b) if so, the details thereof along with its features and the time by which it is likely
to be implemented?
(a) whether the Government has any plan to ensure that proper forecast of weather be
available to the farmers in the country: and
(b) if so, the details thereof along with its features and the time by which it is likely
to be implemented?
MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (SHRI KAPAL SIBAL)
(a) & (b) Yes Sir. Location specific weather forecast based Agro-meteorological
Advisory Services (AAS) are being provided to farmers in the country in collaboration
with Agricultural Universities/ICAR Centres in 107 Agro-climatic zones in the country.
The AAS Units are provided quantitative forecast of six weather parameters for next 4 days
twice a week i.e. Tuesday and Friday along with forecast of cumulative weekly rainfall. The
weather forecast includes information on rainfall, cloud cover, maximum temperature, minimum
temperature, wind speed and direction. At the AAS Unit level, crop specific farmers’
advisories are generated by a panel of experts from Agricultural Universities/ICAR Centres
and disseminated through mass media and also through personal contacts with the farmers.
To further improve the accuracy and quality and outreach of the Agro-meteorological Advisory
Services at the Agro-climatic Zone level, services rendered by National Centre for Medium
Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) are now being
integrated. Under integrated AAS, agromet advisory extension and dissemination at the
district level is envisaged.