Production of pulses, groundnut, cotton, coarse cereals and paddy can see a fall in yield across Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka if rains don’t cover these region in the next few days, feel farmers, government officials and analysts.
Production of pulses, groundnut, cotton, coarse cereals and paddy can see a fall in yield across Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka if rains don’t cover these region in the next few days, feel farmers, government officials and analysts.
In Bihar, state government officials say paddy and maize production will see a reduction due to late rains. In Madhya Pradesh, farmers are worried about soyabean crop which is in the flowering stage. In Gujarat, cotton and groundnut farms have either got deficit rain or received a break in rainfall for a long period, say farmers.
Parts of Karnataka, which is an important belt for pulses, oilseed and coarse cereals, is reeling under rain deficit which traders and analyst feel was worrisome. The total rain deficit for the monsoon season has widened to 10%.
Agriculture ministry officials say rainfall distribution was never uniform and the dry spell in some region will not make any major impact on overall sowing or production. They say planting will be at its peak till August 20.
“We are worried as sowing of paddy and maize is below normal. Also the delay in transplanting paddy seedling from nursery to field by over a week will affect productivity,” says Sudhir Kumar, principal secretary, Department of Agriculture, Bihar. The rain deficit in the state stood at 16% and farmers have 10-14 days for sowing, adds Kumar.
In Gujarat, too, farmers were concerned about production of cotton and groundnut. The rains have been weak in northern and southern part of the state, they say.
RSS-affiliated farmers’ body Bhartiya Kisan Sangh president-(Gujarat region) Vitthal Purushottam Dudhatra said the crop requires good rains. “In southern Gujarat the crop is dying due to moisture stress as it has not rained for many days. The situation is tough for rain-fed farmers. Replanting will not be possible and farmers may shift to fodder and castor thereby impacting production,”he says.
Dudhatra adds that in northern Gujarat – Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Khera, Surendranagar – there have been no rains and only farmers with tubewells or wells have gone for planting of cotton.
Even as soyabean planting was 11% higher than the previous year till the week ended August 3, Davish Jain, chairman of Soybean Processors Association of India, was concerned about the yield. “Its been 10-12 days since we have not received rainfall across Madhya Pradesh,” he adds.
In Bihar, state government officials say paddy and maize production will see a reduction due to late rains. In Madhya Pradesh, farmers are worried about soyabean crop which is in the flowering stage. In Gujarat, cotton and groundnut farms have either got deficit rain or received a break in rainfall for a long period, say farmers.
Parts of Karnataka, which is an important belt for pulses, oilseed and coarse cereals, is reeling under rain deficit which traders and analyst feel was worrisome. The total rain deficit for the monsoon season has widened to 10%.
Agriculture ministry officials say rainfall distribution was never uniform and the dry spell in some region will not make any major impact on overall sowing or production. They say planting will be at its peak till August 20.
“We are worried as sowing of paddy and maize is below normal. Also the delay in transplanting paddy seedling from nursery to field by over a week will affect productivity,” says Sudhir Kumar, principal secretary, Department of Agriculture, Bihar. The rain deficit in the state stood at 16% and farmers have 10-14 days for sowing, adds Kumar.
In Gujarat, too, farmers were concerned about production of cotton and groundnut. The rains have been weak in northern and southern part of the state, they say.
RSS-affiliated farmers’ body Bhartiya Kisan Sangh president-(Gujarat region) Vitthal Purushottam Dudhatra said the crop requires good rains. “In southern Gujarat the crop is dying due to moisture stress as it has not rained for many days. The situation is tough for rain-fed farmers. Replanting will not be possible and farmers may shift to fodder and castor thereby impacting production,”he says.
Dudhatra adds that in northern Gujarat – Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Khera, Surendranagar – there have been no rains and only farmers with tubewells or wells have gone for planting of cotton.
Even as soyabean planting was 11% higher than the previous year till the week ended August 3, Davish Jain, chairman of Soybean Processors Association of India, was concerned about the yield. “Its been 10-12 days since we have not received rainfall across Madhya Pradesh,” he adds.