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In this issue Economic Impact of AAS
Strengthening of AAS in the Country under 12th five Year Plan
Dissemination of Agromet Advisory through IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited
New Initiative : Collaboration with NABARD & SAC
Training on Agrometeorology Awareness Programme
International Activities
National Activities Visit International News/National News
Feedback Meeting/Workshop
Economic Impact of Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) The agromet advisory services rendered by India Meteorological Department (IMD) through various channels have resulted in significant increases in farm productivity resulting in increased availability of food and higher income generation. The services helped the farmers not only in increasing their productions but also reducing their losses due to changing weather patterns and others problems. Economic assessment by the National Centre for Agriculture Economics and Policy Research (NCAP) on AAS estimated 10-25% economic benefit obtained by the farmers. The economic benefit of the agromet services runs in crores. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had engaged National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to carry out a comprehensive study on “Impact Assessment and Economic benefits of Weather & Marine Services.” This study was carried out during September & October 2010 and restricted to main end users i.e. farmers for Agrometeorological Advisory Services. The field study was carried out in 12 states and 1 Union territory. According to the report only 10 to 15 percent of the farmers are benefitting from the SMS services and about 24% farmers are aware about Agromet Services It was revealed that economic profit estimates can vary between Rs. 50,000 Crore (where 24% farmers receive weather information) to 211,000 Crore (where all farmers receive weather information). This shows that its economic returns depend on the proportion of farmers receiving information.
Published by Agricultural Meteorology Division, India Meteorological Department,
Shivajinagar, Pune – 411 005. Tel. Fax : (020) 25535953 / 25512022 / 25512023
Website : www.imdagrimet.gov.in Emails : [email protected] and [email protected]
IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
April – June 2013
IMD/MoES has taken special initiative under the project “Graim Krishi Mausam Sewa” during 12th Five Year Plan to implement the AAS at sub-district/block level so that more precise and accurate agromet advisory can be communicated to the farmers in the country. Following activities will be carried out during next five years. Preparation of High Resolution Forecast Weather forecast of 9 x 9 km resolution will be issued for selected districts in association with others like National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune. R&D products from other institutes like Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC), Space Application Centre (SAC), etc. after due validations and standardization will also be used in this regard. Establishment of District AgroMet Units (DAMUs) In collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), 240 DAMUs will be set up in phased manner at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) by strengthening the existing infrastructure. The expert group of agricultural scientists available at KVK will be involved in preparation of Agromet Advisory. Dissemination of agromet advisory In addition to the present system, following modes of dissemination of agromet advisories will be used. 1. SMS / IVRS to relatively much larger number of
farmers. 2. Modernize Agrimet website to make interactive
3. Multi Platform backend: Web based and frontend
4. Multi Linkages among Agri Experts, Knowledge Institutions, Services Providers, etc.
5. ICT based agricultural information dissemination models
6. Media Lab Asia : An Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS)
7. Agrimet Domain linked to websites of other Ministries viz: Rural development, Panchayati Raj etc.
Capacity Building Periodic need based agrometeorological training programmes will be conducted for Weather forecasters, Agricultural scientists, Extension worker, Media persons, Farmers. Advisories for New Sectors Suitable products will be developed to provide advisories in the new sectors like Horticultural crops, Livestock, Inland fishery, Poultry, Post harvest & storage. Technology Development for AAS Following State of art technologies will be used in AAS. Modernization of Central Agromet Observatory Soil moisture estimation using satellite data Automation of advisory bulletin preparation Development of crop simulation model Pest and disease forewarning model Modeling on livestock and climate relationship Use of GIS, remote sensing for agromet
applications Economic assessment
Strengthening of Agromet Advisory Service in the Country during 12th Five Year Plan
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
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Agromet Data Centre It is proposed to make arrangements for Agromet data collection on line. Existing agromet observatories will be modernised. Basic and derived Agromet Parameters and crop information including remote sensing data will be collected on line. This data centre will be linked with the National Data Centre of IMD located at Pune. Cell for Research and Excellence in Agricultural Meteorology (CREAM) It is proposed to establish CREAM within IMD to conver R&D needs of AAS. CREAM will work to channelize R&D products and tools for their applications in agromet sectors in the following areas: Integration of R&D work on climate forecast development Help channelize farm inputs from different line function departments Help farmers cope with climate risks and uncertainties Help reduce the vulnerability of agroecosystems to climate variability and change Help achieve greater efficiency in natural resource use in agriculture Establish a World Class Training Programme in Agricultural Meteorology
IMD in collaboration with State Agricultural Universities, ICAR and other institutes is providing information on weather forecast and crop specific advisories on agricultural operations on every Tuesday and Friday. The advisory in regional language is disseminated through various modes of communications including mobile phones through SMS. The IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL) was launched in 2009 to empower farmers by providing agricultural information to farmers via mobile phone using innovative voice based technology in their local language including a local support Help Line.The Company is providing value added agromet advisory services of IMD to the farmers through the mobile channel. Five Voice messages per day of importance to farmers are sent free of cost to the farmers which cover area of their immediate interest. The uniqueness of the messages is that they are in local languages and conveyed by local people. Initially in 16 states they have started this project namely Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh. The advisory is sent to registered farmers through their cell phones in India. The farmers can get registered their mobile number through the respective Manager content of their area.
Dissemination of Agromet Advisory through IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
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Contact No. of Manager Contents, IKSL S.No State / Location Manager Content E-mail ID Mobile No.
1 Delhi (H.O) Dr. G.C. Shotriya, Advisor (Content) shrotriya.iksl@iffco. in 9650492121 Smt.Kanchanlata Chandra, Manager [email protected] 9868054127 Mr.GauravRai (Exe.) [email protected] 9540744839 2 UP (E) - Lucknow Sh. O S Tyagi [email protected] 9956412340 Puneet Kumar Mishra [email protected] 8853040889 3 UP (W) - Meerut Sh. Firdos Khan [email protected] 9760803080 4 Punjab - Ludhiana Sh. Jasbir Singh [email protected] 9779663025 Sh. Paramveer Singh 9815208208 5 Haryana - Hisar Sh. Ajay Kumar Singh [email protected] 9896102368 6 Rajasthan - Jaipur Sh. UmeshKumawat [email protected] 9950302542 Sh. Pramod Kumar [email protected] 9166820524 7 M. P. - Bhopal Sh. AvinashPanwar [email protected] 8962408845
9752394333 Sh. Gyanendra Kr. [email protected] 9425667024 8 W. B - Kolkata Sh. AnishKundu [email protected] 8906064671 9 Gujarat - Ahmadabad Ms. Minakshi 9998852285 Sh. Ajay Damor (Executive) [email protected] 9726441114
10 Karnataka - Bangalore Ms. Shashikala [email protected] 9945082141 Ms. Sowmya. G.B [email protected] 9663491313
11 Kerala- Cochin Mr. Ragesh [email protected] 9663404480 Ms. Hajara P.H.(Exe.) [email protected] 9895826777
12 Tamil Nadu - Chennai Ms. Manivasuki, MSSR Foundation [email protected] 914445535527
13 Andhra Pradesh Sh. BSR Ramesh [email protected] 9440082392 Sh. Nadeemudeen [email protected] 9392771770
14 Bihar - Patna Ms. Pratibha [email protected] 9162253908 Sh. Bijay Kr. Mishra [email protected] 9546077948
15 Maharashtra - Pune Sh. Raju D Hiras [email protected] 9890956655 Ms. VishakhaPatole [email protected] 9860250020
16 Himachal - Shimla Sh. Vineet Kumar (Manager) [email protected] 9418113282 17 Odisha Sh. D P Prusty [email protected] 9124391816 Ms. MonalisaPatnayak (Executive) [email protected] 9777494055
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
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New Initiative under IAAS : Collaboration with NABARD & SAC
Collaboration between IMD & NABARD on dissemination of Agromet Advisory Under this collaboration dissemination of weather related information and advisory to the 50,000 farmers through Farmers Clubs of National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) has been started. As on date, all the 10 KVKs in Maharashtra are linked with the AMFUs for preparing and sending the SMS. KVKs send feedback on the advisory to AMFUs. Details regarding major crops, stage of crops,
major pests, diseases, etc. are being shared by KVKs with AMFUs. This has enabled AMFUs to know the ground realities and help them to customize the crop advisories as per the requirement of farmers. Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division, Dr. K. Ghosh, Scientist D, Shri R. Balasubramanian, Scientist C and other staff members of Agrimet Division attended 2nd state level review meeting for the pilot project on 6th May, 2013 held at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Babhaleshwar, Maharashtra.
Collaboration between SAC-IMD A joint initiative between Space Application Centre (SAC) and IMD was taken up to explore the use of satmet products for agro-advisory. Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division and Dr. K. Ghosh, Scientist D attended one day meeting on “Use of Satmet Products in improving Agromet Advisory Services” on 3rd April, 2013 at Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad. The meeting ended with following recommendations and actions : 1) A document will be prepared within on the existing agromet products from IMDPS and high-resolution weather forecasts and their possible utility in IAAS with good examples. This will be circulated to all participants to make them aware about the available products as well as to get
feedbacks from them which will help formulate future course of actions for IAAS. 2) On-the job training for hands-on familiarization of satmet products will be carried out at SAC for the IAAS users. 3) More advanced and additional agromet products can be planned in the 2nd phase through ATBD formulation followed by Test & Evaluation based on the feedbacks of users of IMD (Agrimet), ICAR and SAUs involved in IAAS. 4) A joint pilot project on “Practical and operational demonstration of the use of satmet products for farmers agromet advisories” will be formulated within 6 - 10 months.
Source: Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad
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Training on Agrometeorology Agricultural Meteorology Division, IMD, Pune organised two batches of Agromet Observers’ course of three weeks duration from 20th May to 7th June, 2013 and 10th to 28th June, 2013. Participants from the various Agromet and other observatories under different State Agricultural Universities/ ICAR Institutions, State Department of Agriculture etc. participated in the course.
AMFU- Sonitpur, Assam organized training programme for Village Level Climate Managers on 28th June, 2013. Topics covered during the training were 1. Weather, climate and climate change and rainfall pattern and causes of extreme rainfall in Assam. 2. Weather forecasting and Agromet Advisories. 3. Role of mass media in dissemination of weather related information and Agromet-advisories 4. Preparation and dissemination of Agromet advisories. Participants also visited Agromet Observatory, Automatic Weather Station (AWS) and Research Field of Department of
Agrometeorology, B. N. college of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University (AAU). 13 progressive farmers and 3 KVK’s scientists from the different places of 5 districts attended the training programme. In the training programme role of media persons in dissemination of weather information and agromet advisories was discussed. Participants agreed to be the part of the system for dissemination of agromet advisories at the grass root level.
The Technical Officer of AMFU- Karimganj, Assam, Sri Mahesh Kalita participated as a resource person in a training organized by the farm school at Botorshi village under North Karimganj Development Block by District Agricultural Office on 29th June 2013 and elaborated the role of AMFU in mitigating crop damage due to unusual weather. Farmers were explained about the need of conserving water and importance of SRI method of paddy cultivation in this respect.
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AMFU- Anand and AMFU- Arnej, Gujarat participated in Krishi Mahotsav organized jointly by Govt. Of Gujarat and Anand Agricultural University at Limkheda, Dist- Dahod, Gujarat during 16-30 May 2013.The posters of weather forecast based agro-advisory service were displayed and a documentary on meteorological instruments and weather based advisory services were presented. The programme was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. About 2000-2500 farmers were present in the Krishi Mahotsav.
Krishi Mahotsav Awareness Programme
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Farmers Awareness Programmes
AMFU-Kolasib, Mizoram organised one day Farmers Awareness programme cum field day on “Climatic change and its effect on kharif crops” on 8th May 2013. 48 farmers participated in this programme. The awareness programme included lecture on various aspects of weather and its impacts on agriculture. Emphasis on the management practices in the changing climate condition like delay of onset of rain and monsoon break and its effect on kharif crop were made. Also field visit was arranged.
AMFU-Kandi, Ballowal Saunkhri, Punjab organized one day Farmers Awareness Programme on “Impact of climate change on natural vegetation and role of rainwater harvesting & its efficient use in mitigating aberrant weather conditions” on 16th April 2013. Students of B.Tech (Agril.Engg.) and M.Sc (Soil Science), Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana visited AFMU, BallowalSaunkhri. Dr S.C. Sharma, Director, Regional Research
Station, BallowalSaunkhri along with Dr S.K. Chauhan (Scientist Forestry) explained them about the impact of climate change on natural vegetation in the Kandi area. Dr Sharma also highlighted them the role of weekly agro advisories issued by AFMU BallowalSaunkhri to the farming community for timely sowing of crops and efficient use of irrigation water. Dr. MukeshSiag (Associate Professor, Soil & Water Engg.) and Dr. Satvinder Singh (Assistant Agricultural Engineer) demonstrated the role of rain water harvesting structures in the Kandi area. Dr. Vivek Sharma explained the execution of agro advisory services in the farmers’ fields on real time basis.
AMFU- Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir organized Farmers Awareness Programme on Dissemination of Agromet-advisories on 29th April, 2013. 46 farmers participated in this programme. The meeting was organised in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Srinagar
AMFU-Sirsi, Karnataka organized one day Farmers Awareness Programme on “Installation of Rainguage and Demonstration of measuring rain and importance of Weather forecasting and dissemination” on 21st May 2013. 25 farmers participated in this programme. Dr. K Manjappa, Professor of Agronomy and Nodal Officer explained the importance of weather forecasting and the existence of Agromet field unit at Sirsi. The main work of the AMFU is also explained in detail. Shri S B Yeledahalli, Technical Officer, IAAS Unit, Sirsi demonstrated how to measure the amount of rain and how to keep the record for its efficient use.
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
April – June 2013
AMFU-Kakdwip, West Bengal organized one day Farmers Awareness Programme on 28th June, 2013 on “Kharif season crops cultivation and their management practice”. Thirty farmers of three villages of Kakdwip Block participated. Discussion was made on rice variety selection on the basis of different land situations, seed treatment before sowing by fungicide & bactericide, use of organic manure/green manure, emphasis on cultivation of HYV rice variety like IET-4786, MTU-7029, Pratiksha for up and medium land situation. NC-492, Gitanjali, Shyamali, Barsa for low land situation, use of bio-pesticide instead of chemical pesticides, contingency planning for drought & flood situation. Farmers’ field visit also arranged in connection with coloured fish cultivation, poultry and beetle vine garden and they were also advised regarding good management practices.
AMFU-Kharagpur, West Bengal organized two days Farmers Awareness programme on 10-11th June-2013. Detailed discussion was made on Integrated Agromet Advisory Services. 40 farmers from Bankura district attended the awareness programme. Farmers were completely unaware about the services. Some of them are interested to avail the SMS service in their mobile.
Kisan Mela
AMFU-Chhindawara, Madhya Pradesh participated in Kisan Mela organised by ATMA in Chhindwara during 5-7th June 2013 and in Betul on 9-11th June 2013. Agromet Advisory Services were introduced to farmers. Also weather based package of practice for all growing crops in Chhindwara were explained. About 15,000 farmers in Chhindwara & 10,000 farmers in Betul participated in the Kisan Mela.
AMFU- Targhadia, Gujarat participated in Krushi Mela organized by Junagadh Agricultural University under Krushi Mahotsav programme during 25-26th May 2013 at Jam Jodhpur, Taluka of Jamnagar District. In addition to demonstration of Agril. Technology, farmers were also made aware about activity of AMFU, Targhadia.
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
April – June 2013
Field visit AMFU- Karimganj, Assam carried out an exposure visit of women farmers to the AMFU, Karimganj in collaboration with ATMA on 16th June, 2013. Information about preventing water wastage in agriculture and homesteads was given to women farmers. Technical experts from district Agricultural office joined the programme. Twenty-five women farmers participated in the
programme. The farmers were able to understand the importance of conserving water.
A Field visit of the farmers of Bandra, Devchadi and Shivrajgadh villages was made on 29th June, 2013 by AMFU- Targhadia, Gujarat.. Personal contact of the farmers were made and aware them regarding the activity of IAAS, unit Targhadia by the Technical officer of IAAS, Unit, Targhadia. They were illustrated importance of IAAS.
AMFU-Leh- Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir organized field visit at the AWS site to know about different weather parameters at the Agro Automatic Weather Station on 13 April 2013. 47 farmers were present in this occasion.
Survey was conducted by AMFU- Jharnapani , Nagaland in Songlhuh village under Peren district on 26th June 2013 in order to be study in development of the common diseases of paddy like blast, brown spot and bacterial wilt in relation to the incidence of weather parameters such as temperature and rainfall.
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Farmer-Scientist interaction Agromet Service Cell, Meteorological Centre, IMD, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, and IIT, Roorkee organized one day Farmers Awarness Programme on 22nd May , 2013 at Gram Nangla Emaad. Dr. Anand Sharma, Director, Meteorological Centre-Dehra Dun informed the farmers about the application of irrigation, pesticide, and other precautionary measures according to weather. Prof. S. K. Tripathi said that Government of India is trying to help farmers to great extent through different projects and programmes. Prof. Tripathi also said
that progressive agriculture is possible with the available recourses with farmers. They both assured farmers to help and guide at all level.
Farmer-Scientist interaction
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AMFU- Jharnapani , Nagaland conducted Farmer-Scientist interaction at Pherima ‘A’ village under Dimapur district on 04 May 2013.: 22 farmers participated in the interaction programme. Highlight of KMAS (Kisan Mobile Advisory Service), its usefulness in present day context was given. Farmers were encouraged to utilize the service for improving agricultural production and betterment of their livelihood. Feedbacks were received from all the farmers for further development. It was reflected that most of the farmers required information through SMS service primarily related to livestock especially poultry, piggery and fishery management followed by pest management in crops. Their queries regarding agricultural operations, livestock management and pest problems were discussed and remedial measures provided. Mrs. Imtisenla walling, Technical Officer highlighted the KMAS, its usefulness to the farmers stressing on the importance of its service. She also encouraged the farmers to utilize the service for improving agricultural production and betterment of their livelihood. Remedial measures on livestock were suggested on the spot by subject expert Dr. Ebibeni, SMS, KVK Dimapur.Pest and disease management solutions and organic remedial measures were also suggested by the experts Tasvina. R. Borah, Scientist, Plant pathology and Hifzul Hoque, SRF.
International Activities
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in collaboration with the National Meteorological Administration of Romania, Bucharest, Romania organized WMO, CAgM–OPAG1, Expert Team meeting on “Strengthening Operational Agrometeorological Services” (ETSOAS) at National Meteorological Administrative Headquarter, Bucharest, Romania on 25thand 26th April, 2013 inviting the members in all the RA regions. Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division attended the meeting. The objective of the meeting is to discuss the terms of reference in detail and prepare the final format of the report to be
prepared for each Terms for Reference and ultimately prepare the consolidated report for the forthcoming Commission Meeting of WMO proposed to be organized in 2014. List of members attended the meeting is as follows (next page).
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Sr. Organisation List of Participants Name Surname
1. Chief Agricultural Meteorology Division - CWD, WMO Robert Stefanski 2. Scientific Officer, Agricultural Meteorology Division, CLW/CLPA Jose Camacho 3. Vice-President of CAgM - WMO Federica Rossi 4. Chair CAgM-OPAG 1, RA I (South Africa) Prof. Sue Walker 5. RA VI, Romania Elena Mateescu 6. RA I, Cote d’Ivoire Koffi KOUASSI 7. RA II, India Nabansu Chattopadhyay 8. RA III, Brazil Jose Maria Nogueira COSTA 9. RA IV, British Caribbean Territories Adrian TROTMAN 10. RA V, Indonesia Nelly Florida RIAMA
IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
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List of members attended the meeting
World Meteorological Organisation, Geneva has constituted following Expert Group on Agrometeorology for the Regional Association II
Co-Coordinators Dr N. Chattopadhyay India
Dr Alexander Kleshchenko Russian Federation
Theme Leader in Agrometeorological Training Needs MsFeruzaRakhmanova Uzbekistan
Theme Leader in Soil Moisture Monitoring Ms ZHANG Xuefen China
Theme Leader in Drought Preparedness and Management Strategies
Mr Mir Hazrat Pakistan
Theme Leader in Seasonal Climate Forecast Applications for Agriculture
Mr MAO Liuxi China
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
April – June 2013
National Activities Shri M.G. Ghanekar, AM-I and Shri K.G. Kanade, S.A. attended meeting at KrishiBhawan, Pune on 4th
April, 2013, organized by Director, ATMA, Commissionerate of Agriculture, Maharashtra State for providing agromet advisories to ‘Kisan Call Centre’.
Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division participated in the 10th Meeting of National Natural Resources Management system (NNRMS) Standing Committee on Agriculture and Soils and Workshop on Crop Forecasting and Drought Assessment held on 30th April, 2013 at Mahalanobis Crop Forecasting Centre (MNCFC) , DAC New Delhi.
Dr.A. Kashyapi, Scientist E delivered the lecture on ‘Activities of Agrimet Division and Agromet Advisories to the farmers of the Maharashtra State and at National level’ on 8 May, 2013 to Timeframe advisors of Kisan Call Centre atGultekadi, Pune.
Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division delivered lecture on “Agromet Advisory for minimizing the impact of extreme weather events in India” to the participants of the DST sponsored SERB School on 14th May, 2013 in the training programme on “Agrometeorological Aspects of Extreme Weather Events” held at Central Research Institute for Dry land Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad during 1st to 21 May 2013.
Shri. R.Balasubramanian, Scientist C participated and presented the activities of the Agrimet Division in the “41stJoint Agresco 2013” held at MarathwadaKrishiVidyapeeth, Parbhani on 30th May, 2013.
Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division presented on “Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva” in Expenditure Finance Committee meeting at MoES, New Delhi on 6th June 2013.
Dr. N. Chattopadhyay, Head, Agrimet Division delivered lecture on “Applications of weather on Agriculture” held at SERB School entitled “Weather & climate in tropics” at Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi on 19th June, 2013.
Visit Prof. S. L. Halikatti, Department of Agronomy, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad alongwith sixty postgraduate students visited Agrimet Division, Pune on 8th April 2013. The student also visited Central Agromet Observatory (CAgMO), Pune. They were apprised of the different activities of the Agrimet Division and working principles of the different instruments in the observatory.
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International News/National News
International News Previous Events CAgM Expert Team (1.2), WMO on Strengthening Operational Agrometeorological Services, was held in
Bucharest, Romania on 25-26 April 2013. Trinidad and Tobago organised workshop on the WMO Climate Service at the National Level for the
Caribbean from 29-31st May 2013. The workshop reviewed the current capacity to generate climate information in the region and assess specific needs for climate services in the initial four priority areas of the Global Framework for Climate Services- agriculture and food security, water, health and disaster risk reduction – at the global, regional, national, and local levels.
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Meeting of CAgM OPAG 3 Implementation/Coordination Team on Climate Change/Variability and Natural Disasters in Agriculture was held in Florence, Italy on 30-31st May 2013.
The European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (EFITA) organised EFITA2013 Conference: "Sustainable agriculture through ICT innovation", held in Turin from June 24 to June 26, 2013. The Conference was about the future of ICT in the agri-food sector, bio resource and biomass sector. It was a joint sponsored event between EFITA, WCCA and CIGR VII.
Training course on the use of satellite products for agrometeorological applications was organised by WMO at Accra, Ghana10-14 June 2013 .
Upcoming Events The Intergovernmental Board on Climate Service will organise first meeting in the first week of July
2013 in Geneva focus on defining the substructures and way forward for implementing the Global Framework for Climate Services.
International Conference on Agricultural and Animal Sciences 2013 will be held during 8th to 9th July 2013,Colombo,SriLanka.
National Drought Management Policies -Regional Workshop for Central and Eastern Europe, Bucharest, Romania during the period will be organised from 9-11th July 2013.
CAgM Expert Team (1.3) on Application of Agrometeorological Products and Services for Sustainable Agricultural Development, Lima, Peru will be organisedon 22-23 July 2013.
National News An article “Accomplishment without Assets” was published in Terra Green magazine recently. In this article Shri Rakesh Agrawal mentioned that the state of Uttarakhand has benefited tremendously from accurate weather forecasting issued by the Meteorological Centre, Dehradun. Shri Agarwal appreciated the benefits accrued to the farmers due to the significant contribution of Shri Anand Sharma, Director, Meteorological Centre, Dehradun for issuing timely and correct forecast The weather forecast issued by Shri Sharma has helped the farmers to take appropriate actions, leading to better management and profits. Previous Events Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture has constituted a “High level
meeting for review of NICRA sponsored project on Agriculture”. First meet of this committee was held on 8th & 9th April 2013 at IMD, Pune.
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, M/o Agriculture organised a workshop entitled 'National Workshop on ICT in Agriculture' on June 21-22, 2013 at MANAGE, Hyderabad.
Upcoming Events Agri-Fair will be organised on 05 - 08 July 2013, Deiveegam Thirumana Mandapam Saradha College
Road, Fair Lands Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.( Agro chemicals, agricultural machinery, bio pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation systems and tractors will be some of the products that will be displayed in this show.) (http://www.biztradeshows.com/agri-fair-salem/).
South India’s largest Exhibition on Agriculture, Farm Machnery, Dairy, Poultry, Livestock Equipment and Agri Processing Technology will be organised during 23-25 August 2013, Bangalore International Exhibition Complex, Bangalore, India.
World Agricultural Forum Congress and Agri-Tech Trade Fair will be held on 4-7 November 2013 at HICC, Hyderabad India on Re-shaping agriculture for a sustainable future: focus on small farm holders.
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IAAS-News Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 1, , Number –2
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Feedback
Following feedbacks were received from the farmer through different AMFUs on the usefulness and further improvement of the AAS. AMFU- Sonitpur, Assam : Farmers suggested that training should be organized for enhancing the basic
knowledge of farmers regarding weather, climate and agrometeorology for batter management of weather resources and for increasing crop productivity in terms of quality and quantity.
AMFU- Gossaigaon, Assam :It is worth mentioning here that the production of cereals including other crops viz. oilseeds, vegetables etc. has been increasing day by day. This might have been possible due to dissemination of improved technology, various Govt. schemes like NFSM, RKVY etc. The contribution of AAS bulletins particularly when rainfall was deficient, can is worth mentioning. Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ASFAC have taken major initiatives in disseminating AAS bulletins to farmers in aberrant weather conditions. Most of such farmers thought that the forecast range should be enhanced up to 10-15 days which will be of much help to them.
AMFU- Kolhapur, Maharashtra : Farmers usually want short range weather forecast especially for rainfall for deciding the optimal time of spraying insecticides /pesticides/fungicides for managing pest and disease on the crops.
AMFU- Arnej, Gujarat : Information on seasonal forecast with quantity of rainfall is also required by the farmers in planning for choice of the crops to be sown. Information on incidence of various pests related to cotton crop and its control measured should be generated well in advance.
AMFU- Bikaner, Rajasthan: Advice through SMS and AAS bulletin regarding rainfall helped farmers to save irrigation in the water scarce region of arid zone of north western Rajasthan. Prior information of frost and advisories (light irrigation) helped farmers to protect their sensitive crops like mustard, gram and vegetables Forecast may be given for at least 10 days in advance. Forecast for specific events like frost, hailstorm, dust storm, onset of monsoon may be given regularly and well in advance.
AMFU-Kakdwip, West Bengal: The farmers want to know the up-to date forecast of weather and they also demand the published current bulletin. They also expect meeting/discussion on the eve of every season. It is quite difficult to reach the bulletin to the remote villages for lack of manpower. It is possible to reach each and every farmers’ through SMS or multimedia.
Meeting/workshop
SmtV.K.Mini Scientist ‘C’ Meteorological Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala attended the State Level Core Committee Meeting on Crop Weather Watch Group convened by Principal Secretary, Planning & Economics Affairs Department, Govt. of Kerala on 02 April 2013.
Smt. V.K. Mini, Scientist ‘C’ Meteorological Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala attended the State Level Technical Committee meeting on Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme convened by Director of Agriculture on 22 April and 23 May 2013.
Dr. Latief A. Sofi, Technical Officer, AMFU-Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir attended 21 days summer school at CRIDA Hyderabad w.e.f 1-21 May 2013 on Agro meteorological aspects of extreme weather events.
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