As El Niño threatens monsoon, farmer groups promote millets, mulching and drip irrigation

There are over 63 lakh farmers who are members of 10,000 FPOs across the country, and the ministry plans to use their network to reach out to farmers to adopt climate-resilient practices, including alternative crops and moisture conservation, to counter the challenges of a weak monsoon, according to an official.

“One of the simplest and most effective ways to conserve soil moisture is through mulching. By covering the soil surface with crop residues or other organic materials, evaporation losses can be reduced significantly while also suppressing weeds and improving soil health,” said an official.

Two torchbearers from Jharkhand

Torpa Mahila Krishi Bagwani Swawlambi Sahkari Samiti Limited and Senem Nirem Farmer Producer Company Limited—two FPOs based in Jharkhand—have adopted natural mulching using straw and gunny bags.

“These low-cost interventions help retain moisture in the soil for longer periods, enabling crops to withstand dry spells more effectively,” said the official.

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Etwary Devi, director of Torpa Mahila Krishi Bagwani Swawlambi Sahkari Samiti Limited, said that members of her FPO are planning to sow pulses and millets crops like ragi in the kharif season 2026.

Torpa Mahila Krishi Bagwani Swawlambi Sahkari Samiti Limited has about 4,000 farmers as members. According to Devi, most of these farmers used to plant paddy during the kharif season, but this year they are planning to plant pulses, including moon, urad, and kulthi (horse gram), and ragi, which requires less water. They are also encouraging other farmers to plant crops that require less water, Devi said, speaking over the phone from her village, Gufu, under the Torpa block of Khunti district.

Devi, who owns an acre of land, takes farmland on lease for cultivation, and grows horticulture crops, has been using mulching for moisture conservation. Mulching, using straw and old gunny bags, helps save water and also prevents weeds, she said.

The move to shift from paddy to millet crops in Jharkhand is significant as the state is located in the monsoon core zone, which covers most of the rainfed agriculture areas in the country. Apart from Jharkhand, the zone consists mainly of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Odisha.

Ministry officials said that promoting drought-resistant crops can help farmers reduce production risks under uncertain rainfall conditions. Millets, in particular, are naturally resilient, require less water, and can perform well in marginal environments where other crops may struggle, an official said. An encouraging example comes from MVM Baghima Palkot Farmer Producer Company Limited, Jharkhand, which is promoting millet cultivation among its members, the official added.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon seasonal (June-September) rainfall for the country as a whole during 2026 is likely to be 90 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) with a model error of ± 4 per cent. The LPA of the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole, based on data from 1971 to 2020, is 87 cm. The southwest monsoon seasonal rainfall over the monsoon core zone is most likely to be below normal (<94 per cent of LPA).