Belagavi
Despite the 11 percent deficit in rainfall during the kharif season, sowing activities were not hit as per the apprehension of farmers. A total of 87 percent of sowing has been done in the district so far.
According to agriculture department sources, 6.2 lakh hectares of land have been sown out of a total target of 7.1 lakh hectares. The department is confident of covering the rest of the sowing area within a month.
There is an 11 percent rainfall deficit in the district from 1st June to date in this year’s monsoon. Sowing is also slow due to the delayed monsoon. But the rain has disappeared since a week and the crops are drying up due to lack of water. In the wake of the delayed monsoon, the farmers who had resorted to growing alternative crops other than traditional crops, have become worried about the lack of rain in the month of August.
In the district, cereals, minor millets and pulses are grown in large quantities. Every year, usually sowing starts in June, but this time due to delay in rains, sowing picked up after mid-July.
Due to heavy rain for 10 days, all rivers including Krishna, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha overflowed. But since the first week of August, rain has disappeared and the water level in the rivers has reduced. Farmers are now worried about the future of the crops that have been sown, as the land has started to dry up. As the rains have disappeared, the soil moisture has Agriculture department officials said that 87 percent cereals, 36 percent pulses, 81 percent oilseeds and 100 percent sowing of commercial crops has been completed in the district.
