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With the Maharashtra Government planning to set up 2,025 automatic weather stations (AWSs) across the State, farmers could benefit from the information obtained to decide on the cropping pattern and take preventive steps to protect the standing crop in case of weather changes.
The Rs 100-crore project will get a viability-gap funding from the Centre. The farmers could realise the advantage of the AWS from the kharif season of 2013. AWSs would be located in every revenue circle, comprising a cluster of 20-30 villages.
The network will provide real-time data to Agriculture Universities, Meteorological Department and the Maharashtra Government. The data processed by these entities would be used for providing more accurate weather and crop advisories to the farmers.
PPP model
A senior Maharashtra Government official told Business Line that the project is based on public-private partnership model. The data generated by the stations would also be sold to insurance companies offering crop insurance cover.
The process of appointing a project management consultant has been completed. The consultant will carry out a detailed study and then call for a final tender.
Each station, costing about Rs 5 lakh, will record parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, rainfall, solar radiation, and atmospheric pressure.
According to an industry consultant, AWSs will help insurance companies settle the claims of the farmers much faster, as they will have micro-level data. The data from the stations can also help the Government mitigate and manage environment disasters such as drought and floods.
Ambitious goal
“The Maharashtra Government is chasing a very ambitious goal of installing over 2,000 stations by mid-2013. At present, India has just about 2,000 stations. Such a large network has not been rolled out before,” the consultant said.
The AWS network will fast-track the decision making of the Government on the agriculture front, water management, natural disasters, and so on. The farmers will get timely advice on cropping pattern, harvesting and application of pesticides from the Government. It will be equally handy in forecasting and management of pest.
rahulw@thehindu.co.in
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