Essay – 2

Creative Writing – 8

Bank PO and Junior College Level Essay – Word Limit – 250

Monsoon Dependency of Indian Agriculture

India has two monsoon seasons. The southwest monsoon stretches from June to September and covers most parts of India.  and the other known as The northeast monsoon stretches from Octber till December. It is active mainly in south India – especially Tamil Nadu.

Historically, Indian farmers have depended on monsoon for their farming. Consequently, uncertainties of precipitation caused by El-Nino effect and other such factors cause them great distress. Excess rainfall causes floods, and inadequate precipitation leads to drought. Either way, the agriculturist suffers.

Presently, agriculture contributes to roughly 15 -18% of the country’s GDP, and provides direct or indirect employment to 58% of its population. Normal monsoon is, therefore, so very critical for India. The IMD makes pre-monsoon forecasts about expected rainfall.

The southwest monsoon is very important because it contributes to 75% of the country’s rainfall. Kharif crops like paddy, soya, cotton are grown using the rainfall.  Just one poor monsoon season hits the farmers really hard. They clamour for reliefs and loan-waivers. At times, some commit suicides. No government can ignore farmers’ distress, but such intervention brings limited succor.

Irrigation facilities have expanded greatly in last few decades – from just 25 million hectors in 1950 to 90 million now. Yet, vast swathes of farm land still are rain-fed.

Promotion of horticulture and rearing livestock can be a solution to lessen the impact of drought. Instead of waiving loans, the government can rejuvenate rivers, build more canals, and possibly, interlink the rivers to reduce farmers’ dependency on monsoon.

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