NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will on Wednesday come out with its forecast for this year’s monsoon, indicating the amount of seasonal rainfall the country would get during June-September period. The forecast is important for preparing farm for the upcoming sowing operations of Kharif crops such as paddy, coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds.It is also expected that the country’s national weather forecaster will come out with new ‘normal’ reference dates for arrival and withdrawal of south-west monsoon while making its first forecast for the 2020 season.Till last year, India had been adhering to June 1 and September 1 as ‘normal’ reference dates for onset and withdrawal of monsoon ever since it were last set in 1941 — 79 years ago. Preliminary indications suggested that the onset date will more or less be same for Kerala , but it may change for other places by few days. The withdrawal date from the north-west India may change by up to 10 days.These changes are based on analysis of historical data on changing rainfall pattern across the country, possibly due to global warming and climate change. New reference dates will help farmers, civic agencies, hydro-power plants and disaster management authorities in planning their respective works in better way during the season.Though the IMD’s first stage monsoon forecast would be able to give only a broad picture, it is considered quite important for farmers to plan in advance the kind of crop they should select for cultivation and arrange seeds and relevant farm inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides.Farmers will get the more accurate picture from the IMD’s second stage forecast for monsoon either in last week of May or in first week of June when the national weather forecaster would be able to predict spatial distribution of rainfall over the vast geographical areas of India.Keeping the first monsoon forecast in view, the agriculture ministry will on Thursday (April 16) hold Kharif National Conference (through video conferencing) to firm up the field preparations for upcoming summer sowing season.This year’s preparedness would be different as farmers will have to do it during the lockdown period which has now been extended till May 3.During Kharif conference, all states will be sensitised to keep their contingency measures ready, keeping in view the monsoon forecast so that farmers can get proper supply of seeds and other farm inputs on time.Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar , meanwhile, on Tuesday reviewed activities of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and directed it to leverage the strength of its various institutions and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) - agri extension service centres - to help farmers overcome the problems arising due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown.