With the monsoon likely to hit the district in a few days, the farmers have geared up for kharif sowing. The Department of Agriculture has set a target for paddy cultivation on 45,000 hectares (ha) in the district for 2014-15.
A press release issued by the Joint Director of Agriculture, Anthony Maria Immanuel, the farmers had grown paddy on 44,663 ha and produced 1.36 lakh tonnes of rice in 2013-14. The district received an average annual rainfall of 4,570 mm.
On an average, the district got 206 mm rainfall in May. But this year, the district received just 171.27mm of rain in May. There was a demand for 3,000 quintals of seeds for different species of paddy in the district.
Already 1,313 quintals of seeds had been supplied to the Raita Samparka Kendras (Farmers’ Contact Centres). A total of 970 quintals of paddy seeds had been distributed to 2,271 farmers, the release said.
