Farmers who suffered loss owing to scanty rain in the kharif season are again in fear of getting salt rubbed into their wounds in the rabi season as the district has not received sufficient rainfall.
In the kharif season, sowing could not be taken up in over one lakh hectares of land by farmers owing to deficit rainfall.
Farmers were hoping of a good rainfall this year and the showers that lashed in June also added to their hopes. However, in the later days, the district did not receive sufficient rainfall.
With the district facing failure of rainfall, the government later declared all five taluks drought-hit in the kharif season.
Though the rabi season does not bring major profits to farmers, it helps them at least in recovering losses suffered during the kharif season and earn money for buying seeds and fertilizers for the next farming season.
But looking at the climatic condition, even the rabi season is going to add to their woes.
According to sources, the Department of Agriculture has set a target of 6.08 lakh hectares of land for the rabi season. However, sowing has taken place in only 2.24 lakh hectares of land so far.
Bengal gram, maize, sunflower and jowar are the major crops for the rabi season in the district.
Farmers who have sown Bengal gram and jowar were eagerly waiting for rain to help them get some yield. Besides yield, they will harvest fodder from jowar for their cattle. Those who get excess fodder sell it in the market which fetches them some money.
Though some parts of the district received rain on Wednesday, it proved to be inadequate for the crop.
Officials said that the forecast of the Meteorology Department of good rain during rabi has failed.
Several farmers, meanwhile, have taken the risk of sowing only for the reason not to leave their land unsown.
“Whether we get yield or not, we, at least, can have the land farmed. Therefore, I have cultivated Bengal gram in my four acres of land. I really have no idea whether it will fetch me any yield,” said Sharanappa Babaleshwar, a farmer from Kannur village.
