REPOST: 'Possibility of Drought, But Government Fully Prepared': Agriculture Minister to NDTV

The government of New Delhi remains positive despite the possibility of drought in some parts of the country due to sub-normal monsoon. Read more in this NDTV.com article.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told NDTV that a contingency plan has been prepared for 500 districts all over the country. | Image Source: ndtv.com

New Delhi: A sub-normal monsoon has given rise to the possibility of drought in parts of the country, but the government is ready to tackle it, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said ahead of a meeting called by the Prime Minister to review the impact of poor rainfall.

Mr Singh told NDTV that a contingency plan has been prepared for 500 districts all over the country. "We have prepared a Cabinet note to help farmers with compensations such as subsidised diesel and cheaper loans."

"We have adequate buffer stocks and will do everything to control prices," he promised.

The minister said an advisory was being sent to state governments on the need for drought preparedness. The states expected to be most affected are Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Mr Singh said the Centre has also called a two-day meeting of state officials next week to discuss this.

The meeting called by the Prime Minister today will be attended by the Union Agriculture Minister as well as other senior ministers. The impact of a weak monsoon on price rise, especially on essential commodities, will be discussed in detail at the meeting, sources said.

India is expected to receive below-average rainfall this year, potentially damaging crops in about half of the country's farmland that depends on monsoon rains.

The Agriculture Ministry has already started preparing a contingency plan to cushion the farmers from the adverse impact of a weak monsoon.


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Building Business in Guyana

Ourmilla Sharma is on a mission to help her fellow citizens in Guyana. And so far, results are indicating that she is on fire and more than meeting her goals and dreams.

Ourmilla Sharma and her husband, Satyanand Sharma, are the founders and operators of AA Agri Industries, a business organization that is dedicated to helping increase rice production in Guyana, both for domestic consumption as well as for export as an affordable commodity to other countries. With more than 500 hectares of rice-producing land under the management of AA Agri Industries, this firm is using the fertile lands of Guyana’s coastal regions to employ local residents and produce an important basic food source.

Image Source: istockphoto.com

 In 2013, Guyana saw a huge increase in rice production, leaping to more than 525,000 tonnes as compared to approximately 420,000 tonnes in 2012. There is little doubt that the contributions of Ourmilla Sharma and AA Agri Industries have been instrumental in such an impressive growth in rice output. Part of their contribution has been to bring back to Guyana a larger and better variety of seeds as well as providing new farming techniques that have improved overall production.

A native of Guyana, Ourmilla Sharma made her own success when she came to the United States. She received a BA in Economics at the University of New York and then worked successfully as both an international foreign exchange trader as well as a market analyst in Wall Street for 14 years. Much of her career was with Dresdner Bank and Dresdner Capital Management, where she managed a multimillion dollar investment portfolio.

With her extensive management and financial expertise from her years on Wall Street, combined the experience her husband has in the agricultural industry, their transition to establish and run their own companies was a logical evolution. In this way, both of these natives of Guyana have discovered a way to bring their success and business practices back to Guyana to benefit their friends and family.

This move has been a benefit both to their home country as well as for the many natives who are learning how to create value from their natural resources and joint efforts.

For more about Ourmilla Sharma, visit this blog site.