Ahead of kharif sowing, the state agriculture department has urged farmers not to resort to early sowing and explore crop diversification to override water scarcity in drought prone regions. The advisory comes as part of pre-monsoon alerts to farmers in Maharashtra.

At a meeting held this week, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged all his cabinet ministers and departments to

determine how serious a challenge the drought will be this monsoon, saying all measures should be in place. “The state machinery should be alert and prepared to tackle drought,” he said.

Although kharif sowing will only commence in the second week of June, the government has already urged farmers to stay away from high water-intensive crops.…