To mitigate impact of hailstorms, Agri dept to advance paddy cultivation period in Siddipet

Traditionally, farmers in Siddipet have transplanted paddy until September, resulting in delayed harvesting for both the Vanakalam and Yasangi seasons

Siddipet: In an effort to mitigate the impact of hailstorms and gales during the months of April and May, the Agriculture department in Siddipet is working to advance the paddy cultivation period in the district. This year, the department aims to educate farmers on transplanting paddy before the end of July. Traditionally, farmers in the district have transplanted paddy until September, resulting in delayed harvesting for both the Vanakalam and Yasangi seasons.

Following significant losses suffered by Siddipet farmers due to hailstorms in May, Finance Minister T Harish Rao recently conducted a teleconference with Agriculture officials and paddy farmers in the area. During the conference, the Minister advised the officials to encourage farmers to choose short-duration seed varieties. He also directed them to raise awareness among farmers about the benefits of the dry seeding method, which can reduce the crop duration by 7 to 15 days.

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District Agriculture Officer Korrapati Shivaprasad said they were planning to conduct week-long awareness programmes for farmers on the dry seeding method. Successful farmers who have implemented this method and achieved bumper harvests will be enlisted to share their experiences.

Shivaprasad added that during the previous Vanakalam season, paddy was cultivated using the dry seeding method on 22,000 acres in the district. This season, their goal was to expand it to at least 50,000 acres by educating farmers. The DAO projected a minimum paddy cultivation area of 2.90 lakh acres for this Vanakalam season, compared to 3.66 acres last year.

Advancing the paddy cultivation period will not only address the issue of broken rice during the Yasangi season but also help mitigate the impact of hailstorms. Agriculture officials are advising farmers who choose the transplantation method to start sowing nurseries by the end of June.