Farmer crisis: Ragi worth Rs 94 crore destroyed in Kolar

The damage to the ragi crop has put many farmers of the district in distress. As many as 48,993 hectares of ragi crop estimated to be worth Rs 94 crore has been damaged out of 59,628 hectares where ragi was sown in the district. According to sources, 1,660 hectares of groundnut crop and 669 hectares of tur crop have also been damaged.

According to Ravikumar, technical officer in the Agriculture Department, as ragi is the staple food and requires very less water, farmers sow it as their main crop for daily consumption. “Most of the ragi crop in the district is about to cut, but the continuous rains have damaged it”. Assistant director of Agriculture Rangaswamy said that farmers might get 5 quintals of ragi in place of 14 quintals per hectare and these are farmers who have sowed in the months of August and September.

The average rainfall during this month is 60 mm but this time it has touched 303 mm. A farmer Chikkappaiah from Raghupati Hosahalli in Vemagal Hobli of Kolar said he sowed ragi crop in about 4 acres and most of it has been damaged due to rains. Deputy Commissioner K V Trilok Chandra said that more than 2,000 houses have been damaged due to the incessant rains. He said that the district administration would submit a detailed report to the government on the losses due to rains in Kolar district and would seek compensation. The damage to the houses is estimated to be around Rs 2.50 crore. The DC however said that the rain would help in recharge of borewells and filling up of many dry tanks in Kolar district.