Monitoring and Managing Agricultural Drought in India - Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought: A Global Study - page 307

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Table 23.3 Area and production of food grains and oil seeds in 1986-87 and 1987-88

Area (million ha) Production (m. tons)

% %

Category 1986-87 1987-88 Difference 1986-87 1987-88 Difference

Total kharif food grains 81.46 74.45 -8.6 80.20 73.89 -7

Total rabi food grains 45.74 44.26 -3.2 63.22 64.52 + 2

To tal food grains 127.20 118.71 -6.7 143.42 138.41 -3

Kh arif oilseeds 11.51 11.47 -0.3 6.38 6.28 -1

Ra bi oilseeds 7.12 8.53 + 19.9 0.89 6.10 + 24

Total oilseeds 18.63 20.00 + 7.4 11.27 12.38 + 10

So urce: The Drought of 1987, Response and Management, vol. I, DAC, Ministry of Agriculture, New
Delhi.

[307

Soil and Water Conservation

Line
——
12.
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Shor
PgEn

Th e soil conservation department in each state has constructed contour
bo undaries (in areas with higher slopes) and check dams for water storage
an d implemented methods to control soil erosion. In addition, ridge-furrow
sy stems, artificial microcatchments, and inter-row water harvesting is also
ad vised to help store soil moisture throughout the growing season and
th us mitigate droughts. Figure 23.5 shows a water-harvesting structure
co mmonly used by households for storing rainwater in Rajasthan.

[307

Relief Measures

R elief measures are undertaken mainly by governmental agencies and in-
cl ude supplying food, fodder, drinking water, and animal shelter (mainly
fo r cows to avoid mortality), employment, distribution of seeds, and subsi-
di zed power for the rabi season to help boost production (Subbiah, 1993).

Food Security and Buffer Stock The Food Corporation of India (FCI),
established in 1965, provides infrastructure for procurement, storage, and
distribution of 30 million tons of food grains per year. At the time of
droughts, food grains are distributed through FCI from surplus to deficit
areas through a public distribution system at subsidized rates. During the
1965-66 drought, India imported 10 million tons of food grains to meet
half of its food requirements for the drought-prone areas. But at the begin-
ning of 1987 (the worst drought year in recent times) the FCI had storage
(or buffer stock) of 23 million tons of food grains and also collected an ad-
ditional 13 million tons from surplus areas and supplied it to 285 million
people affected by drought. Although the 1987-88 drought was double
in severity and affected twice the population as the 1965-66 drought, the
country could meet its food requirements from its buffer stocks. In 1979,