With more than 50% deficit in monsoon rainfall till August 15, Gujarat appears headed for a drought. The State has not received significant rainfall in any of its regions except a few pockets that received showers from mid-June to mid-August.
So far the State has received only one spell of rain in June and two in July against the normal four rain spells that it receives every year. Earlier in May, due to cyclone Taukte, a few pockets in coastal areas had received rain but the cyclone had caused massive damage, with more than 60 people killed and extensive destruction.
“It is a huge concern for the State because the monsoon so far has been disappointing. There is a possibility of monsoon revival in the last week of August otherwise it will be very bad for agriculture,” a senior official said, adding that the government is monitoring the situation.
Normally, the southwest monsoon reaches Gujarat in mid-June and remains active till mid-September during which time, the State receives several spells across all regions. Gujarat had received 449.3 mm rainfall till August 9 last year while the figure is 304.7 mm till August 15 this year.
What is aggravating the situation for farmers is the lack of water in either rivers or reservoirs. “Our reservoirs have just 35-40% water as on August 12,” a State Irrigation Department official said, ruling out any further release for irrigation if there is no substantial rainfall.
Recently the State government was forced to release Narmada water for two weeks for irrigation in the Narmada canal command area.
In Saurashtra’s groundnut belt, the worries of the farmers are mounting each day as the dry spell continues. “If there is no rain in one week, we will be hit very badly because our crop will fail now. No rain and no irrigation water to save the crops,” said Bavanaji Patel, a farmer with 30 acres of land in Junagadh district.
According to him, the groundnut crop requires maximum water in July and August and so far, both months witnessed a deficit which is growing with each passing day.
As a staple cash crop, groundnut cultivation area this year is around 1.9 million hectare while last year, it was two million hectare. Average groundnut production in the state is around 3.5 million tons.
Similarly, farmers who have cultivated cotton are also now anxiously waiting for monsoon revival otherwise they are staring at crop failure. “We need heavy rainfall in this month or else we will not be able to save the crop,” said Samatbhai Ahir, a farmer who has cultivated cotton in 20 acres in Jamnagar district.
In this season, the area under cotton cultivation is around 2.2 million hectare. Both cotton and groundnuts are staple kharif crops as Gujarat is among the largest producers of both oilseeds.
