Ranchi: Anticipating poor monsoon this year, state agriculture minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey on Thursday directed officials to plan in advance in order to combat drought and directed them to prepare district-level contingency plans by May 12.“The govt is fully alert and active regarding the possibility of below-normal rainfall in the state as per initial predictions,” she said, adding that various forecasts have indicated a potential 30 to 35% deficit in average rainfall during the financial year 2026–27.Tirkey also held a meeting with departmental officials to chalk out modalities. “The possibility of drought-like conditions developing in central India cannot be ignored. So, we have started to move with a concrete strategy,” she said.The meeting resolved that an effective arrangement of a contingency fund will be made to provide farmers with timely information, technical guidance, grants and necessary assistance.“Our goal is not merely to face the crisis, but to turn it into an opportunity by making agriculture stronger, more sustainable and more profitable. Hence, I have directed officials to prepare a comprehensive and implementable blueprint of the district-level contingency plan will at the proposed Kharif workshop on May 12,” she said. The govt has placed agricultural diversification at the centre of this strategy. Advising farmers not to remain dependent solely on paddy, the minister stated that crops requiring less water — such as Madua (Ragi), Urad, Moong and Soyabean — will be promoted, particularly in upland areas.
