Indian Monsoon is a complex phenomenon and depends on various factors like en nino, la nino, Indian oecen dipole. In last two years el nino affected Indian monsoon and caused drought in many regions and given insufficient rainfall at many places which made the farmers position vulnerable. We cant change nature’s mechanism but with effective steps can reduce its impact on stakeholders.

Drought –
1. Stress resistant crops- With assistance from ICAR and KVK, developing stress resistant crops will result in risk & vulnerability mitigation.
2. Early Warning System- Partnering with ISRO and Meteorological department to develop and use effective EWS. E.g. Resourcesat and Bhuvan.
This will aid in implementing at the earliest National Drought Mitigarion Plan, making it more effective.

Water scarcity –
1. Rain water harvesting- To recharge aquifer and fill up ponds/lakes, leveraging MGNREGA to build harvesting capacity.
 

2. Micro irrigation- In light of PMKSY, aiming towards per drop more crop, farmers should be aware and incentivised towards drip and sprinkler irrigation. This will prevent water wastage and increase water productivity.
 

3. Cropping Pattern- Using m-Kisan, extension service and awareness to farmers to use mixed cropping, incentivising horticulture-millet-pulses sowing. This will reduce water guzzling crops like rice and sugarcane.Eg. Systematic Rice Intensification SRI to be adopted in North India.

4. Climate resilient farming: The Government has devised a scheme under National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture, where about 25,000 farmers have been trained on climate-resilient agricultural practices. 

Govt. Initiatives –

1. Rationalization of MSPs – more for pulses and less for water-intensive crops.
2. Limiting free electricity for water-pumps – will reduce unnecessary water use.
3. Agriculture extension services to promote ‘more crop per drop’.
4. Small scale irrigation solutions.
5. R and D in irrigation and water use – promotion, funds.

CONCLUSION –

Dependence on Monsoon for nearly 60% farming is the main cause for vulnerability of Indian farmers. So, Main aim should be to increase irrigation fed area from current 45%, following Mihir shah committee recommendation. Till then, managing drought and water scarcity through community-participation is essential to ensure food and water security.