Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
T6-01O-1076
Agrometeorological Interventions for Enhancing Farmers’ Income in the
Drylands of South Interior Karnataka
M. N. Thimmegowda*, M. H. Manjunatha, Lingaraj Huggi, L. Nagesha and
D. V. Soumya
AICRP on Agrometeorology, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru560065, Karnataka, India
* mnthimmegowda@gmail.com
In developing countries like India, ensuring food security to growing population is the main
challenge in the face of changing climate. Inter and intra-annual variability in climate impacts
agricultural production. Among several methods to overcome such ill impacts of climate on
agriculture, forecasting and educating the farmers about possible upcoming variability in the
regional climate is one. In this direction, agromet advisory services were issued to farmers in
four districts, viz., Bangalore urban & rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, in the dryland regions
of south interior Karnataka using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and
their effect on crop productivity was studied.
Methodology
AICRP on Agrometeorology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is playing a major
role in communicating the weather information to farmers through Gramin Krishi Mausam
Sewa (GKMS), funded by India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Innovations
in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The
forecasts issued by IMD are used to inform farmers about the forthcoming weather vagaries
and necessary actions to be taken to minimize or avoid crop losses. The utility of weather
forecast depends upon their reliability and applicability at micro level (Singh et al. 2004). We
assessed the reliability of forecasts issued by IMD and evaluate the cost economics of
implementation of agromet advisory.
Study area and agromet information shared: Four dry farming districts in the south interior
Karnataka were selected for the study, viz., Bangalore urban & rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur
to share the weather information twice a week based on IMD’s forecast. The districts differed
with respect to the annual and seasonal rainfall distribution, Bangalore Urban received an
annual rainfall of 854.6 mm, of which 460.1 mm received in South-west monsoon (SWM) and
233.7 mm in North-East Monsoon (NEM). Bangalore rural received a normal annual rainfall
of 809.2 mm out of which 440.7 mm in SWM and 228.9 mm in NEM. Chikkaballapur receives
a normal annual rainfall of 731.3 mm divided into 399.8 mm in SWM and 222.2 mm in NEM.
Kolar, being an eastern most dry district, receives 746.4 mm annual rainfall of which 386.8
mm received in SWM and 236.3 mm in NEM (Sanjeevaiahet al. 2021). This variability in the,
Institutional and policy innovations for accelerated and enhanced impacts
798 | Page