Alarmed over the continuing dry spell and the expected power shortage in the near future, the Agriculture Department in the district has advised farmers to desist from cultivating paddy this kharif season. Paddy cultivation could result in failure, besides drastically depleting groundwater level in the coming months, officials said.
The normal area under paddy cultivation during the season is about 52,000 hectares and farmers are making preparations for transplantation by raising nurseries at present. Officials maintain that paddy can be cultivated in about 40,000 hectares in the mandals of Dilawarpur, Lokeswaram, Nirmal, Laxmanchanda, Khanapur, Kadem, Jannaram, Dandepalli and Luxettipet, even if rainfall occurs by the end of this month.
Though the department is ready with a district-level contingency plan for sowing of crops in view of the delayed monsoon, authorities have asked for a similar plan at the mandal-level too. The exercise is likely to be completed early next week.
According to officials, crops have been sowed in about 3.25 of the 6.5 lakh hectares under cultivation in the district so far. Various crops have withered in about 1 lakh hectares owing to the prolonged dry spell.
In case there is no rainfall by July 31, agriculture scientists have suggested cultivation of red gram in about 80,000 hectares, up from the normal area of about 27,000 hectares. Jowar is another crop suggested by the authorities to tide over difficult times.
The Agriculture Department has also evolved a strategy for farming in the event that the dry spell continues up to August 15, with the thrust mainly being on red gram with the area likely to go up to about 2.75 lakh hectares. Other crops which will be promoted in drought conditions is sunflower and sesamum even as the area under cultivation will get reduced to about 3.8 lakh hectares in the district.
