The State is hoping for bountiful monsoon this year after last year’s unprecedented drought that accentuated farmers’ distress owing to crop loss.
The Indian Meteorological Department has already forecast normal rains and the monsoon is expected to keep its date and arrive in Karnataka in the first week of June.
The pre-monsoon showers across the State are encouraging, with the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre records indicating that such rain in most of the districts was above normal.
Temperature dips
This has not only triggered agricultural activity but also resulted in the temperature dipping considerably in Kalyana Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka regions.
While downpour with gusty winds have also caused damage to public and private property along with reports of loss of lives in a few areas, the showers have raised hopes of the farming community.
Farm labourers having lunch after work at Marewada village in Dharwad taluk. After good spells of pre-monsoon showers, farm activities have begun in Dharwad district. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Anticipating good rains, agricultural and horticultural officers are ensuring good stock of quality seeds and fertilizers in their respective districts.
Farmers too are buoyed by the prospects of good rains and are flocking to cattle markets, leading to a rise in prices of the livestock.
At the Holebasaveshwar Cattle Market in Haunsbhavi of Haveri district, a pair of average oxen was being sold in the range of ₹60,000 to ₹90,000, while oxen of good breeds fetched ₹1.2 lakh to ₹1.4 lakh ahead of the kharif season.
With Shivamogga region receiving good rains, farmers from the district have been visiting cattle markets in neighbouring districts.
Good rain in Yadgir
In Yadgir district where more than average rainfall has been received, farmers are busy preparing land for sowing for the kharif season and a sowing target of 4.02 lakh hectares has been set for the district.
In drought-prone Raichur district, already more than the average rainfall has been registered during May, with the Agriculture Department setting a target of 5.56 lakh hectares for the kharif season.
Dharwad district too benefited from the recent rains: it received 63 mm rainfall as against the average rainfall of 40 mm during May.
A sowing target of 2.7 lakh hectares has been fixed for the district and seed distribution of prominent crops such as soybean, maize, groundnut, green gram, and paddy has begun through 31 seed distribution centres. The district has a stock of 33,240 tonnes of fertilizers to meet the demand.
Meanwhile in Haveri district, 2,872 quintals of seeds and 6,453 tonnes of fertilizers have already been distributed among farmers.
Crop damage
In parts of southern Karnataka such as Mysuru and Chamarajanagar, heavy rains and gales caused widespread damage to crops in Periyapatna in Mysuru district while 980 hectares of crops, mainly banana plantation, was affected in Chamarajanagar district.
The target for sowing for Mysuru district has been pegged at 3,90,267 hectares, of which paddy cultivation is expected to be taken up on 89,200 hectares; ragi will be cultivated on 77,500 hectares and other crops include tobacco, maize, corn, cotton, groundnut, sunflower to name a few are the other major crops for the coming kharif season.
But heavy rains in some parts of Mysuru and Mandya since the last few days has saturated the soil and farmers say that they have to wait for a few days for the land to dry before resuming agricultural work.
The Agriculture Department has pegged the demand for seeds of various crops at 30,689 quintals and has said that there is enough stock to meet the requirements.
