Image for representational purpose only. , Photo credit: The Hindu
Farmers in Jharkhand, who are yet to recover from losses during the kharif season drought, are again facing uncertainty amid severe winter rain deficit, which is adversely affecting rabi crops, officials said. Is.
According to the Meteorological Department, the state received only 0.3 mm of rain from November 1 to February 16 against the normal average of 41.3 mm.
“Jharkhand faced 100 per cent rain deficit in November, January and February. The situation was slightly better in December with 96 per cent deficient rainfall,” said an official of the meteorological department.
Data shared by the agriculture department shows that less rain since last year has already affected the sowing of the rabi crop, with 35 per cent of the total cultivable land lying fallow.
Rabi crops are usually sown from October to December. In Jharkhand, the exercise is going on till the middle of January.
Abhishek Anand, in-charge of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, said: “The state recorded an additional 25 per cent rainfall in October, but after that the weather remained almost dry. Jharkhand did not receive rainfall after December 26 last year.”
In the last phase of the monsoon season, the state received heavy rains, prompting the government to raise the target area for sowing rabi crops to 1.5 million hectares this year, said Mukesh Sinha, deputy director of the state’s agriculture department. Was.
The sowing area of major rabi crops like pulses, wheat and oilseeds, however, stood at 10.26 lakh hectare this season, lower than last year’s 10.98 lakh hectare.
“The acute rainfall deficit since November has affected sowing, with a large part of the cultivable land lying barren. We will soon review the situation and decide on measures that will be taken to provide relief to farmers, if needed.” can be done.” Mr. Sinha told PTI,
shame on the farmers
Agriculture experts expressed concern over the fate of farmers, who are entirely dependent on rainfall for crop yield.
PK Singh, additional director of research at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU), said, “Irrigation facilities in the state are known to cover about 18% of the cultivable land. Many farmers in Jharkhand are completely dependent on crop cultivation. are rain-dependent. In particular, the weather pattern is also changing. We need to have seeds that can adapt to this change. Currently, research is underway to develop drought-resistant seeds.”
Karu Mahto, a farmer in Ranchi’s Chanho area, said both the kharif and rabi seasons had been “dismal”, with little hope left at the end of winter.
“The dry season was good for vegetable crops, but we failed to recover the investment made as cabbage and tomatoes were grown in excess and sold at throwaway prices,” he said.
Jharkhand farmers faced drought in the last kharif season due to a 49% rain deficit in the first two months of the monsoon, which is considered crucial for sowing rice, maize, bajra, ragi, pulses.
However, Jharkhand was 20% deficient in total monsoon rains till 30 September.
The JMM-led government had on October 29 declared 226 of the state’s 260 blocks “drought” and decided to provide cash relief of ₹3,500 to each affected farmer family under the Chief Minister’s Relief Scheme.
The state has also sought Rs 9,682 crore from the Center as a drought package.
According to the Agriculture Department, the total paddy production in the Kharif season of 2022-23 stood at 18.53 lakh tonnes as against 53.08 lakh tonnes in 2021-22.