The working group on risk management in
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| 3.3. Drought Risk Drought is a normal feature of India’s climate. Droughts of varying, magnitudes, intensities, duration and geographical spread, have haunted India, over centuries During the period 1871-2002, there were 23 major drought years, defined as years with All India Seasonal Monsoon Rainfall (AISMR) less than one standard deviation below the meanie. anomaly below -10%): 1871,1873, 1877, 1899, 1901, 1904, 1905, 1911, 1918, 1920, 1941, 1951, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987 and Despite significant developments in terms of increased areas under irrigation , better crop management practices, enhanced outlays for rural development programmes etc, the most recent major drought in inter alia, exposed country’s continued vulnerability to droughts. The steep fall in foodgrain production was to the extent of 29 million tonnes in 2002. no other major droughts in the past caused a reduction to this extent. Cropped area left unsown during Kharif season, due to drought was around 18.53 million ha, and million hectares of the cropped area, was damaged.In spite of around 43% area under irrigation during Rabi 2002-03, the fall in Rabi output was around which is one of the largest reductions during rabi, in comparison to major earlier drought years Around 150 million cattle were affected, due to the lack of fodder and water. Fodder prices went beyond the reach of cattle breeders, during November 2002 – February and peaked again in May-June 2003, despite large scale fodder transport. The total loss in rural employment due to the shrinkage of agricultural operations, was estimated at 125 crore man-days. The gross domestic product in agriculture shrank by. The loss of agriculture income was estimated to be around Rs. 39,000 crores. A multi-institutional drought early warning system exists in the country, to monitor the behaviour of the agro-climate indicators like rainfall, temperature, reservoirs levels and crop conditions, on a weekly basis from June to September. This early warning system called the Crop Weather Watch Group, enables the Government to intervene in July- August itself, instead of waiting for an assessment of the damage at the end of the cropping season (October- November. The country has a well-established drought response machinery at the national, state, district and village levels, with institutional mechanisms, to integrate the participation of political and civil society organizations. From an economic perspective, 'agricultural drought maybe viewed as an exogenous, supply-side shock, which is widely recognised as resulting directly in sharp reductions in agricultural production and employment apart from other losses associated with declines in rural income. In addition, meterological drought, may result in hydrological conditions that have a direct impact on non-agricultural production, including hydroelectric power generation and drinking water supply. Download 0.68 Mb. Share with your friends:
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