As
contingent measures to deal with the deficient rainfall, the Centre on Friday
said it will stop all exports of non-Basmati rice and wheat, and bear half of
the subsidy on diesel offered to farmers by the states.
The
decisions were announced by Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in the
Rajya Sabha, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet
colleagues were briefed on the monsoon situation and Kharif sowing on Thursday.
“We have already stopped the export of non-Basmati rice through the diplomatic
channel (meant for humanitarian aid). We will soon stop export of two million
tonnes of wheat through the same channel,” he said, responding to a debate on
deficient monsoon and agriculture contingencies.
He
assured the House that the government had rice and wheat stocks for 13 months
in its kitty. On the soaring price of pulses, he hinted at the possibility of
import of certain pulses which would be distributed through the public
distribution system. Pulses are grown in the rain-fed areas of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which did not receive adequate rain,
creating a worrisome situation, he said.
On
the tur dal price crossing Rs 100 a kg, Pawar said it might be a temporary
phenomenon which could be managed if the monsoon situation improved. But the
demand-supply gap may be met through import.
On
paddy cultivation, he said “substantial” shortfall had been witnessed in Bihar,
east Uttar Pradesh and west Uttar Pradesh. But Punjab and Haryana were not a
problem as the farmers had sustained the transplanted crop with irrigated water.
Pawar said while 100 MWe of additional power from the Central pool was released
to the farmers in Punjab and Haryana, the Centre had agreed to release another
100 MWe for the next 15 days. The Centre has agreed to share half of the
financial burden of the Bihar government that had announced a diesel subsidy
for the farmers, he said.
As
much as 15 lakh quintals of additional seeds have been made available to
support the alternative plans.
Source: Deccan Herald
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