Farmers told to save crops with rain-guns

Farm operations drop to 1.55 lakh hectares this season

Joint Director (Agriculture) K. Vijay Kumar.

Joint Director (Agriculture, Chittoor district) K. Vijay Kumar has called upon farmers, particularly those cultivating groundnut crop, to take immediate steps to save their crops with rain-guns and sprinklers.

The official expressed serious concern at the deficit rainfall during the kharif season, leading to a steep fall in the acreage by 50%.

Speaking to the media, the Joint Director said the Agriculture and line departments had already saved groundnut and other important standing crops on about 10,000 hectares with rain-guns and sprinklers.

The government would make available all the necessary paraphernalia for the farmers in this regard.

The official said that as against the regular acreage of 2.31 lakh hectares, agricultural operations dropped to 1.55 lakh hectares this season. The groundnut crop had withered in about 10,000 hectares, and 25,000 more hectares were left without any crops at all. “This kharif season had registered deficit rainfall in the district, and this led to declaring 58 mandals as drought-hit. Due to technical reasons, the mandals of Kalikiri and B.Kothakota were dropped from the list of drought-hit mandals,” he said.

Crop loans

Mr. Kumar said farmers of the drought-declared mandals should approach their respective bankers and get their crop loans rescheduled. “This would also help them avail themselves of new crop loans and payment of earlier arrangements on easy instalments,” he said. Mr. Kumar observed that the field staff should compulsorily identify groundnut farmers who had actually lost their crop. After due formalities, the list of farmers who suffered losses would be displayed in the villages. He said that alternative crops would be encouraged in areas where the traditional groundnut crop was dropped due to deficit rainfall.