Vizianagaram farmers staring at drought  

Vizianagaram: If rains continue to play hide and seek, the district may head towards drought-like condition. According to official sources, the rainfall this year has been 17 per cent less than normal and farmers are in distress. With every passing day, they are losing hopes on kharif, while paddy nurseries are getting dried up.

In Vizianagaram district, sowing activities took place only in 67 per cent of the farms. The happiness that was witnessed when the district received good rains in June eventually disappeared. Subsequently, rains have played truant and the farmers are fast losing hopes of saving their paddy crop. What is worrying them more is repayment of the loans they had borrowed from private money lenders.

As per the Agriculture Department the district received 121 mm of rainfall in July as against the normal rainfall of 151 mm. In August, the district should normally receive 121 mm rain but so far only 22 mm of rain was recorded.

Due to the insufficient rainfall, crops were sown only in 1,36 806 hectares in Vizianagaram against the normal sowing area of 2,03,252 hectares. K Surapu Naidu, a farmer from Komarada mandal said, “I have been saving my paddy nursery by pouring water with pots. I am planning to go for alternative crops like pulses or some other crop to feed my family,” he said.

Confirming the grim situation, G S N S Leelavathi Joint director of Agriculture Vizianagaram district said, “The inadequate rainfall has crashed the dreams of the farmers in our district. If the same situation continues for some more time, we will suggest the farmers to go for alternative crops, which need less water,” she said.

By Koppara Gandhi