Unsupportive weather condition and scarcity of agricultural labourers is forcing the paddy farmers to depend on the harvesters (a machine used for harvesting crops) in the ongoing rabi season in Krishna district.
The farmers who usually rely on migrant workforce for agricultural operations are a worried lot owing to the acute labour shortage at a time when the harvesting of rabi paddy is picking up. Of the 90,000 hectares in which the farmers have cultivated paddy this rabi season, in majority of the areas the crop is being harvested with machines. Farmers are in a hurry to finish the harvesting operations, after the recent sudden rainfall damaged the ready-to-reap crops in many areas in the district, resulting in heavy loses to the ryots. For this, the farmers are hiring harvester machines from outside the State, though the move weighs heavy on their pockets. Ryots say with the hiring of the machines, the input cost for harvesting operations has been doubled.
“We hire machines on hourly basis. An acre of paddy can be harvested in two hours and we have to pay Rs. 6,000. The input cost on harvesting operations has almost doubled this year,” farmers say.
With the sudden rain playing spoilsport since the beginning of the harvesting season, farmers in Diviseema mandals, Challapalli and other parts in Eastern Krishna district are also relying on harvesters. According to officials, the harvesting of paddy is likely to complete by May end.
