Crop-specific weather forecast soon

 
An early agricultural weather forecasting mechanism that will help farmers reduce crop damage caused by climate change by making use of the strides in satellite technology will be launched in Kerala in a few months.The multi-institutional mechanism, supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD), will be jointly executed by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) and the State Agriculture Department."The mechanism aims to provide highly localised agriculture-related weather information to the farmers four or five days in advance," KAU Vice-Chancellor K.R. Viswambharan told The Hindu. When in full swing, the information would be available at panchayat-level, he said. Some 30 mini-super computers would be established at Cusat's Department of Atmospheric Sciences for the purpose. These computers would process the data sent down by weather satellites. The pilot project would be operational in about six months, Mr. Viswambharan said.C.K. Rajan, head of Cusat's Centre for Monsoon Studies, pointed out that the agricultural weather forecasting system would make use of over 60 automatic weather stations (AWS) being set up in Kerala. The AWSs were being set up by ISRO and the IMD all over the country to make weather forecasting sophisticated, more accurate and early. Already, 42 AWSs, linked to weather satellites, had been set up in the State. A few of the rest would be located in such a way that they would be accessible to farmers in different parts of the State.The coordinator of the KAU's Centre for Climate Change Research, G.S.L.H.V. Prasada Rao, said that the system could provide weather forecast and information to farmers on rice, rubber, cardamom, banana and a lot of other crops. He pointed out that in Kerala, rice, coconut and banana were the crops that were most sensitive to climate change. In each district, 50 farmers would be trained as agro-weather information providers. They would go to villages on motorcycles every week, either on Tuesday or Wednesday, and give the weather forecast (such as the possibility of rainfall) for the following week and data on previous week's weather and other related information. This information would be panchayat-specific. Again, depending on the dominant crop in a district or region, the information would be made crop-specific. For instance, in Kuttanad, the data would be specifically on rice, but in Idukki it would be on cardamom and pepper and in Kottayam rubber and tea.Prof. Rao, whose specialisation is in agricultural meteorology, pointed out that the project was an outcome of last March's extensive rice crop damage caused by unexpected heavy rain in Kuttanad. Such damage could be considerably reduced by providing more accurate weather information well in advance. He said that the most-sensitive agro-ecological zones in the State were Kuttanad, Palakkad, Wayanad and Idukki.

The Hindu, 25th August 2008