Even as the administrative machinery has geared up for keeping ready the seed and fertilizer for coming kharif on time, the farming community is gripped with the fear of not getting them before the onset of monsoon given the past experiences.
Since long queues, jostling, police lathicharge and laying siege to distribution centres by farmers for seed and fertilizer has been common in every kharif season, the present situation suggests that these would not be unavoidable this season also. Farmers in the district sowi soya immediately even after one rain, in the kharif season.
However, the seed has not arrived yet.
Preparations on
According to Joint Director, Agriculture, K. Narsimha, like in previous years the net sowing area in the coming kharif could be 4.50 lakh hectares and preparations are on to meet the requirement of seed, fertilizer and other inputs for such a giant size of cultivation. Therefore, the department had put an indent for 85,000 quintals of seed.
Soya constitutes a major portion followed by maize (14,000), green gram and black gram (600 quintals each) and red gram (500 quintals).
Soya is expected to be sown in 1.50 lakh hectares equal to that of paddy and maize in 45,000 hectares.
An indent was placed for 1.32 lakh tonnes of urea, 18,000 tonnes of DAP and 68,000 tonnes of complex fertilizer besides 13,500 tonnes of green manure and they would start coming in the first week of next month.
As far as seed was concerned in a next of couple of days it would be reaching to the district headquarters town, said the Joint Dierctor.
Expressing confidence that the department would be able to meet with the demand of seed and fertilizer among farmers this season, he said that the machinery would ensure their smooth distribution.
On the other hand, the DCC president Taher Bin Hamdan, who is also a farmer by occupation, criticised that even though the monsoon season was fast approaching there were no signs of preparedness from the Agriculture Department.
He said till now, no seed and fertilizer were made available by the department.
The CPI (M) Rythu Sangham leader Gangadharappa said that the government failed to prepare a plan on the basis of demand and supply of agriculture inputs which in fact should have been in place by this time.
