Mangalore, Jul 24: The timely revival of the monsoon rains in latter half of July has brought hope to the farmers in the twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Torrential rains have brightened the agricultural prospects in the region.
Rain deficit in June across coastal Karnataka was a matter of concern for farmers. Naveen, a farmer from Polali on the outskirts of Mangalore said that the paddy farmers, who were worried due to rain deficit in June, are now very happy. “Everyone is sowing,” he said.
Paddy farming in low lying areas was not a problem, but that at higher levels would have faced difficulty if rains were delayed further, said an expert farmer in Bantwal.
Last month the twin districts received lesser rainfall compared to previous years. According to the figures provided by the Rain Monitoring Cell at the Deputy Commissioner's Office, the normal rainfall in Udupi district in June is 1,055 mm. But this June, the district got just 575 mm of rainfall, which is a deficit of 480 mm. In June, 2013, the district had received an average rainfall of 1,264 mm.
The revival of monsoon has brought smiles on the faces of farmers across the country. The monsoon has now covered the entire country and narrowed the deficit to 35%, as monsoon maintained its momentum for the fourth consecutive day in most regions.
Ramesh Chand, director at the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, said even with a loss of 50% in production paddy was a much more remunerative crop over millets and pulses for farmers and hence farmers would continue to go for its sowing.
"It's becoming much clearer that moisture and water stress will impact crop yield. Rainfed areas and farms where irrigation is done through diesel propelled tubewells or canals will be hit. Farmers are risk takers and will continue to think that rain will be normal and sow crops they usually go for," he said.
Timely and normal monsoon is also vital for winter crops as it raises the water table and moisture content in the soil. "If there is delay in kharif sowing it will hit planting of wheat, lentil and sunflower. Hence farmer should go for short duration crops," said Prasad.
Monsoon is vital for India as 55% of the arable land depends entirely on rain for irrigation. While agriculture accounts for only about 15% of the economy, monsoon has a wider impact because it affects millions of people in villages, and weak rainfall can raise food prices.
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