Area under paddy in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts put together has gone up by 4.11 % during this kharif season.
Agriculture Department officials attribute it to some farmers who otherwise had left their paddy fields fallow returning to farming and some youth who were working in cities and towns elsewhere returning to the roots of their family farming due to the COVID-19 situation.
According to the department, the area under paddy in the two districts went up by 1,857 hectares to 46,998 hectares in this season from 45,141 hectares in the last kharif season.
Paddy cultivation was high in Dakshina Kannada which registered an 8.03 % increase when compared to 2.93 % growth in Udupi district.
The area under paddy shot up by 837 hectares to 11,248 hectares from 10,411 hectares in Dakshina Kannada. It was up by 1,020 hectares to 35,750 hectares from 34,730 hectares in Udupi district.
Joint Director, Agriculture, Udupi, H. Kempe Gowda, told The Hindu that as per information gathered by the department, some persons who have returned to their native places due to the COVID-19 situation have taken up farming in their family-owned paddy fields which had been left fallow. They are now staying back in the villages.
Normally, Mr. Kempe Gowda said, the department used to distribute paddy seeds from the second week of May before the onset of monsoon. But there was demand for seeds this year in April itself. Hence, seeds were distributed after the second week of April.
The Joint Director said that if the department had distributed about 1,900 quintals of seeds in the last kharif, this time, it went up to 2,500 qunitals. There was demand for MO 4 variety.
Joint Director, Agriculture, Dakshina Kananda, M.C. Seetha, said that the demand for seeds went up to 790 quintals from 725 quintals this year, which the department distributed.
“One of the reasons for the area going up was that the land left fallow has been brought into cultivation by local groups with hand-holding by the department and elected representatives,” Ms. Seetha said.
Assistant Director of Agriculture, Mangaluru, Veena K.R., said that the area went up particularly in Mulky and Surathkal areas. Some who had returned from Maharashtra, particularly from Mumbai, took to farming again in Mulky.
A farmer producer organisation in Surathkal led by Sadashiva Shetty brought fallow land under cultivation by convincing owners who stayed locally of the need to take it up and also by involving some youth who had returned to their native places due to COVID-19, she said.
