Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, agricultural activities across Karnataka gained momentum and the sowing area and crop intensity are higher than last year.
The southwest monsoon has covered the entire State. There was 314 mm of rainfall against the normal of 327 mm for the period from June 1 to July 15, and hence, the monsoon is considered normal, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
Though there were fears of agriculture taking a hit in the initial stages of the pandemic outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, farmers have returned to the field.
The sowing target for the kharif season is 73 lakh hectares (ha) and the coverage, as on July 10, has been 34.22 lakh ha. During the same period last year, 28.13 lakh ha were brought under sowing.
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In Mysuru district, against a target of 3.95 lakh ha, 55% of the sowing target has been achieved so far. Joint Director of Agriculture for Mysuru, Mahanteshappa, said the target area was 146% of the actual cultivable area because of crop intensity. The main crops include paddy, sugarcane, cotton, black gram, jowar, besides vegetables and fruits.
In Hassan, the target for sowing is 2.31 lakh ha of which 39% of the cultivable area has been covered. Officials are confident that they can attain 80 to 82% of the target by September.
In north Karnataka, 90% of the sowing target has been achieved, thanks to a vigorous monsoon.
Four-time increase
In Dharwad district, over 80% of the sowing was completed last week and Joint Director of Agriculture Rajashekhar Bijapur said the cultivation of black gram had increased by four times.
In Bidar, farmers have completed sowing on 3,44,990 ha against the target of 3,68,000 ha, with black gram and green gram accounting for the bulk.
In Kalaburagi, 86% (6,49,411 ha) sowing has been completed against the target of 7,55,130 ha, with black gram accounting for 32,482 ha and green gram 55,974 ha. In Belagavi, sowing has been completed on over 6.2 lakh ha out of the targeted 6.8 lakh ha.
In the coastal belt, including Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, the sowing area under paddy is expected to increase marginally.
(With inputs from Mysuru, Hassan, Mangaluru, and Hubballi)
