Contingency plan ready if monsoon fails

The Agriculture Department has decided to implement a contingency crop plan if the South West monsoon does not pick up by July 10, according to Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda.

Making a four-hour reply to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday to a discussion on grants for his department, the Minister said the contingency plan had been prepared by the department. Under such a plan, farmers would be advised to shift to short-term crops to minimise any losses due to the vagaries of monsoon, he noted.

The Agriculture Department had stored adequate quantity of seeds of short-term crops, the Minister said. However, the department would wait till July 10 to see if the monsoon would gain strength, as per the advice of agricultural scientists.