"vanakalam"

Highlights severe challenges faced by farmers, warns that decrease in cultivated area dangerous sign for survival of ryots

With less than 50 days remaining in the season, the cultivation of major crops like paddy, cotton, and pulses is in jeopardy.

Despite continuous rainfall during the last few days, the water bodies have not received adequate inflows. Besides rivulets in their catchment areas, SRSP is the major water source for LMD and MMD.

Though the district received relatively less rainfall compared to other districts in the State, the rains saved the crops that had started withering a week ago.

As per rainfall data by the Telangana Development Planning Society (TDPS), the district recorded an actual average rainfall of 248 mm as against the normal rainfall from June 1 to July 15, reflecting a deficit by 19 percent.

Vanakalam cultivation area at just 1/3rd of targeted 15 mn acres

When farmer Manne Lingaiah (65) lost hope of getting rain after an extended dry spell, he hired a water tanker by spending Rs.2,000 on each trip to save his paddy nursery.

The government has been flooded with complaints on non-availability of fertilisers from different districts in May and June.

Farmers could not take up sowing of any other dry crops such as maize, red gram and other crops due to lack of adequate rainfall

The State government has set a target of 15.19 million acres for Kharif crops this year, expecting a modest increase of eight per cent in the Kharif area.

Farmers are raising paddy nurseries under assured irrigation sources and sowing rainfed crops like jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, pulses, groundnut, soybean and cotton.

In a complaint filed by his son, Paramesh, Venkataiah got a borewell sunk in his field last Yasangi, which failed. Adding to the woes, he could not mobilise the funds for buying seeds and fertlisers this Vanakalam.

The indecisive stand of the government on the issue of bonus for paddy is likely to play havoc with the crop planning during the season.

The price forecast is based on the monthly modal price data obtained for 6-22 years from major markets of agricultural and horticultural commodities.

Farmers started preparing the fields for sowing seeds of various crops mainly staple paddy, cotton, soya bean, red gram, green gran, maize, etc.

Paddy is expected to be cultivated in 3.27 lakh acres.

Nizamabad, which is the largest paddy growing district in the State, is estimated to have a paddy yield of about 15 lakh metric tonnes this season.

Barely 8,294 metric tonnes of the rice grains were delivered as against the target of 93,575 metric tonnes of rice so far. Show-cause notices were served against 19 mills that did not return the grains a few days ago.

Farmers are busy with sowing operations as the monsoon is active all over the State during this week. Sowing of jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, pulses, groundnut, soybean and cotton in the rainfed areas are almost completed.

Niranjan Reddy on Saturday appealed to Vanakalam (kharif) farmers to opt for short duration paddy varieties