Bhawanipatna: Farming has undergone changes with an increasing number of farmers adopting modern agricultural practices in the face of labour shortage and to save time and money, a report said. The farmers in Kalahandi, a predominantly agricultural district, have adapted themselves to changes.
Most farmers use diesel-powered tractors and power tillers in the face of a severe shortage of farmhands. Their dependency on these tractor and power tillers has grown more due to shortage of farmhands following COVID-19 pandemic.
However, many do not have their own tractors or power tillers and use them on rent. The diesel price determines the size of the rent of tractors and power tillers.
In last farming season, a farmer paid Rs 900 for hiring a tractor for one hour while this year he has to pay Rs 12,000 for the same duration. Moreover, farmers having their own tractors need seven litres of diesel to plough for one hour.
However, a Rs12 increase in diesel price during last 14 days has hit the farmers hard as they have to spend more on cultivation. The current price of diesel has crossed Rs 81/per litre and this has come at a time when farm works have been hit hard by the COVID-19 induced lockdown. They are now preparing for transplantation of paddy saplings on their farmlands but are finding it difficult to meet the increasing cost of cultivation due to price rise of diesel.
Farmers apprehend that this year they have to spend more on cultivation than the previous year which has now become true. The rise in diesel price has dealt a heavy blow to farmers who are already reeling under a host of problems like natural calamities and lack of proper marketing.
Batakrushna Sahu, a farmer of Bondopola village, said farmhands of other states and district are not interested to visit Kalahandi district due to COVID-19 induced lockdown and fear of being quarantined. As a result, they have to hire tractors and other equipment. This apart, they also use motor pumps where there is no irrigation facilities. However, they find it difficult to hire these equipment due to a sharp rise in diesel price. Farmers have demanded the state government intervene and supply them diesel at a subsidized rate.
This year the government has made a nominal increase of Rs 53 to the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy while they faced a sharp reduction in weights of their paddy stocks while selling them in mandis during rabi season.
PNN