Weatherman & Farmer: Made for each other

By PRABEER SIKDAR

DEHRADUN, 11 Apr 2009:

In the age of internet/ television, what would appear astonishing to some is that many Uttarakhand farmers belonging to Garhwal Region are crazy about a radio programme.

Known by the name of ‘Krishi Jagat’, the evening half-an-hour programme (6:45 – 7:15 p.m.) is aired by AIR’s Najibabad Centre on 954 KHz (MW) everyday.

What makes the programme interesting for farmers are the agricultural forecasting and other farming related expert advice provided by Agricultural Scientists of Pant University.

Speaking to Garhwal Post, Bibhuti Bhushan Bhatt, Programme Executive of AIR Najibabad Centre (UP), the programme is quite popular in Chakrata, Mussoorie, New Tehri and Pauri. “The same programme is again retransmitted by AIR Lucknow to Almora and Pauri,” said Bhatt, adding that AIR Najibabad Centre, which is a 200 KW station, remains confined to only Garhwal Region.

“After the constitution of the AIR Almora station, this agri- educational programme also gets aired in the Kumaon Region,” he added, stating that the AIR Najibabad Centre gets much fan mail as well as agri-related queries from farmers in the Garhwal region.

However, a major drawback of the programme is that due to the poor signal, radio listeners cannot connect to the said frequency in areas like Srinagar, Rudraprayag and in some parts of Doon. “The signal is good in the hills, so agricultural scientists speaking about hill crops may be heard by the farmers,” he said, adding that during the programme, scientists also answer the queries/ doubts of farmers on various aspects of farming.

“The letters should be addressed to Station Director, Najibabad Centre, Pin -246763,” Bhatt told Garhwal Post.

Most importantly, what differentiates these Agricultural scientists in the ‘Krishi Jagat’ programme is the fact that they are also trained in making weather based agro-advisories.

“Sponsored by the Indian Meteorological Department, these agricultural scientists are also trained in making medium range weather forecasts,” said Anand Sharma, Founder Director of the State Meteorological Department, who also heads Met Dept’s Agro Advisory Unit (AAU).

An expert in Agricultural meteorology (very few in India), Sharma said that for effective agro-forecasting, the State Met Dept had set up three Agro-Met Field Units in the state. “They are located in IIT Roorkee, Rani Chauri and Pant Varsity,” said Sharma, adding that from these three centres, the weather cum agro advisories are relayed to other places by the State Met Department.

Advantages

Describing the advantages of weather based agro advisories, Sharma said that, if farmers adhered to these advisories, which are also sent to Secretary, Agriculture, Director Agriculture, AIR Najibabad and Lucknow Centres and Agro-Met Field Units (five days in advance), they can save a lot of money and time.

“For instance, for the wheat crop, which is about to be harvested in the plains (Udham Singh Nagar, Doon and Haridwar), at this time, the right time to harvest them (for those who could not do it earlier) is between 10-14 April, because the period is going to remain dry,” he explained.

“To cite another example, it is a common agricultural practice to water young wheat crops, when they are 21-25 days old. But, what is more important is to carefully listen to weather forecasts, because if it rains, the already irrigated crop may be flooded.”

Sharma also emphasised that there ‘are many critical stages in the life of a crop when weather based agro advisories could prove helpful to farmers’.

According to Sharma, the thrust area for the State Met Department is mainly those farmers who cultivate in the State’s plains. “The reasons are that, in these areas, there is possibility for mechanised farming in addition to availability of good irrigation facilities,” he told Garhwal Post.

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