The uncertainty over water storage in irrigation projects and tanks across the State till a month ago has impacted agricultural operations for the current rabi.
Though the rabi commenced in October technically, farmers are not sure whether they will get sufficient water to cultivate paddy which is the main crop of the season. The copious rains last month which were 31.83 per cent in excess over normal ignited their expectations and, hence, they have just now started planning out their second crop even as they are focussed on harvesting the first one of kharif.
Just less than 2.5 lakh acres, mainly smaller crops like groundnut, maize, bengal gram, jowar and sunflower have been taken up for sowing while paddy, which is a water-intensive crop, and expected to account for nearly 17.5 lakh acres in rabi is yet to pick up though preparatory work of raising nurseries under borewells has started at places. Last year, the sown area of all crops was more than one lakh acres in excess by this time.
As 80 per cent of farmers depend on irrigation sources like canals, tanks and borewells in rabi, the role of the district irrigation advisory boards which finalise water release from projects assumed significance. The water from projects was also used to fill up borewells to augment supply. The boards for all 30 districts, old and new, have been constituted and they were in the process of finalising water release though it has not materialise, said an irrigation official. Th Agriculture Department has reason to believe that the cropped area of paddy this season will be 17.5 lakh acres, at least 2.5 lakh acres more than normal, because of the huge storages in all projects. Barring calamities, they expected a yield of 35 bags per acre as last year. As paddy was a crop which can be grown leisurely without a time limit, the uncertainty of storages in reservoirs did not push farmers into panic sowing of other varieties. Nonetheless, the agriculture university has set a cut-off date of November 10 to December 15 for completion of paddy nurseries and transplantation.
