APC Y Kikheto Sema, Dr KN Mohan and others during the commissioning programme on February 7.
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2 new Automatic Weather Stations commissioned
Kohima, February 7 (MExN): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has commissioned two new Agromet Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) in Nagaland that will strengthen the state’s infrastructure for weather forecasting for agriculture, disaster management, and aviation, among others.
The commissioning programmes for the new installations at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Lumami and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yisemyong, were held on Monday with state Agriculture Production Commissioner Y Kikheto Sema as special guest. Deputy Director General, IMD-NE Dr KN Mohan, Nagaland University Vice Chancellor Prof Pardeshi Lal, and officials from the agri and allied departments also attended the programmes.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr KN Mohan said that the IMD was looking forward to installing Agro Met AWS in all the district headquarters, and lauded the State Nodal Officer and the state government for extending all possible help to the IMD. He also gave a brief technical report on the different sensors that the AWS is equipped with and its functions. This was followed by demonstrations Sunit Das, Scientist-E, IMD.
According to updates from the Department of Soil and Water Conservation, APC Y Kikheto Sema noted that due to climate change, prediction of seasonal weather has become challenging without the aid of modern observing equipments like the AWS. In the past year the state faced a drought like situation where in the state did not receive any rainfall in the monsoon season. However, the state government could not send any advisory to the farmers because there were no such facilities, he said.
Sharing on the agriculture scenario in the state, the APC said that in Nagaland, 70% of the population living in rural areas depend on the agriculture and allied activities. Out of this, 73% are engaged in traditional jhum/shifiting cultivation, which according to him, ‘is not found to be economically viable and ecologically sustainable’ and 27% are engaged in settled farming. This is because the farmers are still practicing old and traditional methods but the weather is changing very fast, he said.
Considering the challenges at hand, he said that the state government has appointed K Khekiho Shohe as State Nodal Officer to coordinate with the IMD, KVK, ICAR and state government for all matters related to meteorology. He commented that, after Shohe assumed the role, the state is already seeing tangible developments, and lauded the officer for taking up his responsibility with sincerity and proactively coordinating with all the stakeholders for improvement of meteorology related services.
The APC further assured that the state government is willing to extend all possible help in setting up of infrastructure required to build a strong network for weather forecasting for agriculture, disaster management, aviation etc.
Conveying gratitude to the NU Vice Chancellor for hosting the IMD team, the APC also thanked the IMD for working closely with the state government for improvement of weather-related services in the State, and Dr Mohan for bringing about many visible developments during his tenure and personally visiting the state to take stock of the ground situation.
NU Vice Chancellor Prof Pardeshi Lal meanwhile expressed hope that the AWS would help forecast the weather way ahead of time and help prepare and adapt for any eventuality. Thanking the IMD for installing the AWS at the NU Campus, he was optimistic that the facility would prove beneficial for both the farming and scientific community.
