As El Nino concerns loom large, contingency plans have been designed for 342 districts across 15 states expected to receive below-normal rainfall, even as several monitoring cells have been activated to manage the agricultural and water risks.Over 192 lakh quintals of climate-resilient seeds are being made available to the farmers to beat the weather extremities, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday.Minister of State for Agriculture and Family Welfare Ramnath Thakur said the government was continuously monitoring the evolving monsoon situation, and the possible impact of El Niño conditions on agriculture in close coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD).“We have identified 342 districts in 15 states which are most vulnerable to El Nino impact. Standard operating procedures have also been issued by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for Krishi Vigyan Kendras to mitigate El Niño-related risks,” he told the Lok Sabha.The minister said the Central Water Commission and the affected state governments had been advised to undertake advance planning for optimum utilisation of reservoir water and promote efficient irrigation practices.“As part of the contingency plans, the ministry is holding weekly meetings of the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG) to review the rainfall situation, reservoir storage, groundwater levels, crop sowing, input availability, market situation and pest/disease incidence for timely intervention,” he said.In addition, the National Disaster Management Authority has also reviewed the preparedness of below-normal rainfall conditions emanating from the likely impact of the El Nino conditions.He told the Parliament that there was availability of 192.25 lakh quintals of Kharif crop seeds against the demand of 172.80 lakh quintals from the states.“States have maintained 1 per cent seeds, that is, 1.74 lakh quintals as the National Seed Reserve,” he said.Special emphasis has also been laid on promoting crop diversification, promotion of short-duration and drought-tolerant crop varieties, balanced use of fertilizers, water conservation practices, micro-irrigation, mulching, inter-cropping and practices of other climate-resilient technologies.The agriculture ministry said sowing was likely to be affected in respect of tur, soybean and cotton due to the delay as well as the likelihood on adverse impact of El Nino conditions. The advisories to the farmers have been given to sow maize, bajra and moong, and other short duration crops, it added.