By IANS,
New Delhi: With a good monsoon forecast this year, noted agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan Saturday said the country should learn to take “advantage” of plentiful rain, just as there are contingencies for extreme climatic periods.
“How prepared are we to take advantage of a good monsoon?” asked Swaminathan, also known as the father of the Green Revolution, at a seminar on “Ensuring Food Security in a Changing Climate”.
The Indian Meteorological Department has announced that the rainfall in the country was likely to be normal from June to September.
He said that the government should set up research stations across the country to help farmers.
“They could be located at the panchayat (village council) level or at the zonal level. These will provide computer simulation to show possible crop patterns to be undertaken in different conditions, which is important in planning contingencies,” said Swaminathan.
Noting that the level of investment for wheat storage was not adequate, he said: “There must be visibility of government stocks around the country.”