Vijayapura: Considering the below average rainfall received by the District in the Kharif season, the District Administration has proposed the State Government to declare the district as drought-hit.
According to the District Administration, the District has received 40 days of less rainfall this monsoon.
Many districts have recorded excess rainfall but Vijayapura has not even received traditional rainfall, which has affected the yield of Toor and other Kharif crops in the District. The District has received only 34 mm against the expected rain of 106 mm in October and has recorded 39 mm against the expected rain of 25 mm in November.
According to the officials of the Department of Agriculture, “A whopping 4.6 lakh hectares of toor-dal, which is a six-month crop, has been sown in the District. As there was no rain for about 40 days it has affected the flowering and pod-setting process in the same crop. This will result in a poor yield this season. It has occurred due to the dry-spell for over one month.”
Vijayapura is the second highest producer of Toor after Kalaburagi in the State.
It may be noted for the third consecutive year the farmers have suffered loss either because of the excess or poor rains in the region.
Rajshekar Williams, Joint-Director of DoA, said that, “This season because of the dry-spell farmers have been affected. We have not yet estimated the loss but through the District Administration an appeal has been made to the government to declare the region as drought-hit area as we have recorded 40-day short rainfall that has affected the crop.”
“The crop has not been completely damaged but it has affected the production and in many areas the pulses have turned black due to poor climate conditions. It is only in black soil that the crop is in good condition and in the remaining area it is partially damaged.”
“As per the norms farmers are eligible to claim the relief funds if and only if the State Government declares the region as flood or drought-hit area. We have highlighted that the poor rainfall is the major cause of the crop loss in the region. So, the government appealed to declare the region as drought-hit area. A report has been submitted to the government by the District Administration,” added Agriculture Officer Williams.
MLAs M. B. Patil and A. S. Patil Nadahalli have visited the affected areas and interacted with the farmers of their respective constituencies. “I have visited agriculture fields across Babaleshwar constituency, where farmers have been hit severely as most of the people have suffered crop loss. I appeal to the State Government to conduct a proper survey and announce relief funds as soon as possible. The State Government should announce the special package as the relief funds sanctioned under the SDRF and NDRF norms will be meagre for the farmers,” urged M. B. Patil to the government.
Image source James Frid by Pexel
