Baripada: With just over a week left for July to go, Mayurbhanj district has not yet received sufficient rainfall to nourish agriculture. The farming community is worried over deficit rains, as they apprehend the approaching footsteps of a drought in money pockets.
“In the month of Shravana, farmlands, water bodies, rivers, creeks and ponds would have been full of water but they are still dry. Farmlands have cracked,” bemoaned a farmer.
Agricultural activities should have been gone far ahead by this time, but farmers in this tribal-dominated district are sitting idle and unable to start their operations.
In this district, three fourth of the population are dependent on farming. Usually, farmers groom paddy saplings from June and July and then carry out transplantation between July 15 and August 15.
In some areas, paddy saplings have started wilting for lack of water.
“All my saplings have wilted for want of rain,” said farmer Madhab Singh.
The poor monsoon this year has left the farming community distressed, said Harinarayan Behera.
He added that the government should take stock of the situation and make provisions for compensation to the affected farmers.
Bikash Nayak, another farmer, lamented that he had raised saplings by borrowings from other, but they have started drying.
In the current kharif season, the agriculture department had set a target to grow paddy in 2, 92,5000 hectares, but cultivation has started in 81, 791 hectares only.
July should have received rainfall of 337.03 mm, but only 90.35 mm rainfall has been received in the district so far, sources said.
Agriculture experts and farmers opined that if there is no rainfall in the next eight days, the district will surely face drought.
Deputy director of agriculture department, Damodar Sethi said, “If the weather goes dry like this for over a week, there is possibility of drought in the district.”
PNN