El Niño may pose challenges to rainfed rabi crops, affect production, says Centre

New Delhi, Sep 28 (UNI) The government on Monday said the upcoming rabi (winter) season could be challenging for rainfed areas due to the El Niño weather pattern, with foodgrain production potentially affected. Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra made the remarks while addressing a two-day national conference on preparedness for the rabi season. Chandra said the kharif season had also been challenging, particularly in rainfed areas, with several states struggling first to achieve adequate crop coverage and later to ensure crop survival. "We are seeing that in the coming season, production is likely to be affected to a large extent. And…