Kendrapara: It seems that the woes of farmers in Kendrapara district will not end this year.
After floods played havoc with the paddy, now it is the turn of the pests to attack the crop in many blocks of the district amid allegation of short supply of urea fertiliser, a report said.
According to reports, following heavy rainfall in August and September, many parts of the costal district were flooded. The floods destroyed large quantities of paddy crops.
However, now the quantity that survived are facing pest onslaught. Farmers alleged that though they had applied pesticides, it was not effective in containing the disease.
“Pest attacks are now breaking our economic backbone at this time of pandemic,” some farmers lamented.
Farmer leader Bidhubhusan Mohapatra said that post the flood situation, 30 to 40 per cent of the surviving paddy is damaged due to pest onslaught in the district.
“After floodwaters receded, farmers had hoped to get a good harvest, but pests have played spoilsport for the farmers.
They are worried how to pay back loans and manage their families,” said Mohapatra.
Jagdish Pati, a farmer of Depura under Sadar block said that he took Rs 30,000 as loan from a nearby cooperative society for the crops this year.
Such is the situation that he is apprehensive whether he will be able to return the loan amount. The deputy director of the Agriculture department said that pest attacks have been reported from eight blocks in the district.
Farmers are being sensitised about some preventive measures, he informed.
PNN