The role of district agro-met offices in supporting farmers | Explained Premium

IMD plans to revive DAMUs under GKMS scheme to provide crucial weather-based agricultural advisories to Indian farmers.

The story so far: Last week, PTI reported that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to revive District Agro-Meteorology Units (DAMUs) under the Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) scheme. The IMD established 199 DAMUs in 2018 in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The aim was to use weather data to prepare and disseminate sub-district level agricultural advisories. In March, DAMUs were shut down following an order issued by the IMD.

Around 80% of farmers in India are small and marginal. They largely practise rain-fed agriculture in the backdrop of a decades-long farm crisis that is now overlaid with climate change-related weather variability. “The climate is changing. Monsoon onset and withdrawal dates have changed. We also see extended dry spells and heavy wet spells. Farmers should have this information because it affects crops,” Madhavan Rajeevan, former secretary, Ministry of Earth Science, told The Hindu.

The DAMUs were located within Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Scientists and researchers trained in meteorology and agriculture were recruited as DAMU staff. They used weather data provided by the IMD like rainfall, temperature and wind speeds to prepare agricultural advisories related to sowing and harvesting, usage of fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation etc.

These advisories were sent to millions of farmers across the country free-of-cost in local languages twice a week. They were shared via text messages, WhatsApp groups, newspapers and also through in-person communication from DAMU staff and KVK officers. Since these advisories provided weather information in advance, they helped farmers plan activities like irrigation. They also served as early warnings for extreme events like droughts and heavy rainfall. Many studies conducted over the years have stressed the benefits of agro-met advisories.

According to a report by Article-14, the NITI Aayog misrepresented the role of DAMUs and also sought privatisation. NITI Aayog falsely claimed that agro-met data was automated, thereby undercutting the role of DAMU staff. In reality, the DAMU staff played a huge role in preparing agricultural advisories based on weather data by the IMD. These advisories were prepared at the block-level across districts and then communicated to farmers in local languages. NITI Aayog also sought monetisation of such services as opposed to the current scheme where agro-met information was provided free-of-cost to all farmers. “Closing DAMUs was not a wise decision. The [GKMS] scheme should have been strengthened to capture the needs of farmers across the country,” said Dr. M. N. Thimmegowda, a professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences.

In February, the Gujarat-based Association of Agrometeorologists wrote to the Prime Minister expressing “deep concern and disappointment” about the decision to shut down the agro-met units while highlighting how DAMUs helped build “climate resilience” among the farming community. In the same month, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to Jitendra Singh, current Minister of State in the Ministry of Earth Sciences seeking a continuation of the services. A policy brief released in August by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore notes, “The results of our study in the Kalyana-Karnataka region — a region characterised by rain-fed farming and economic backwardness — shows that by providing localised and accessible advisories, DAMUs have enhanced farmers’ ability to respond to climatic variations effectively, enabling higher yields and consequently also higher incomes…The decision to discontinue the DAMUs should be reconsidered and avenues for enhancing and strengthening their presence and impact must be explored”.

At present, there are a handful of private players in the weather advisory space. But there are serious concerns about the affordability of such services. “Private companies work with a profit motive and the prices become exorbitant for small and marginal farmers who are the majority,” Mr. Thimmegowda said. For instance, consider how some companies currently charge ₹10,000 per crop for an annual subscription to their advisories. This would mean an investment of ₹20,000-40,000 for many farmers who cultivate vegetables and cereals. Some companies also charge rates as high as ₹60,000-80,000 for annual subscriptions to downscaled farm-level agromet advisories. Further, Mr. Thimmegowda explained that there could be bias in agro-met advisories related to usage of fertilizers etc. “Their recommendations of fertilizers and pesticides could be biased towards certain brands.”