The delay in the arrival of monsoon has upset plans of farmers who were keen on sowing various crops, especially on non-irrigated land across Belagavi district during the kharif season.
Officials put pre-June rain scarcity at 66 %. The dry spell of nearly three weeks has led to farmers sowing on only one-third of the targeted area of 7.2 lakh hectares of land. While nearly 60 % of the irrigated land in the district has been cultivated, only around 0.5 % of the rain-fed land has been sown, taking the average sowing to around 30 %.
Belagavi, with five rivers, is inlaid with distributory canals of three medium irrigation projects. It is among the districts with a high proportion of irrigated land. The proportion of irrigated and non-irrigated land in the district is 51:49. While canals feed 3.74 lakh hectares of land, 3.43 lakh hectares are dependent on the advancing or returning monsoon.
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Among the taluks, Gokak is the most irrigated with one lakh hectares, followed by Chikkodi with 64,600 hectares, Athani 56,500 hectares, Raibag 53,000 hectares and Saundatti 34,000 hectares. The driest taluks are Bailhongal with 65,000 hectares, Hukkeri, Khanapur and Belagavi with 45,000 hectares and Ramdurg with 30,000 hectares. Though farmers grow nearly 20 crops, the biggest cash crop remains sugarcane. It stands on 2.25 lakh hectares, of which fresh crop is on 65,000 hectares, while the rest is rotund crop of one or two years.
Officials are making all preparations for the onset of the monsoon. Jilani Mokashi, Joint Director of Agriculture, says that there is enough stock of seeds, fertilizers and other inputs that are to be distributed by the department. All the inputs are available in the Raitha Samparka Kendras and department offices in taluks and hoblis, he said. He expects a sudden increase in sowing in the next two weeks.