Heavy rains wash away farmers’ hopes for a good kharif

HYDERABAD: Heavy rainfall across Telangana over the past week is estimated to have damaged almost a tenth of the crop plantations, undertaken recently at the start of the Kharif season.

The key farming centres of undivided Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts incurred heavy losses.

In Kharif season, the plantation is done across 55 lakh acres. As per preliminary reports, crops on over 5 lakh acres — of paddy, cotton, maize and soya bean, among others — have been damaged, with officials unable to undertake a field study due to continuous rains.

Farmers are a worried lot as the IMD has predicted more heavy rains in north Telangana, with red and orange alerts already issued. They said that they might have to redo the entire sowing process if rains continue to wash away the soil and destroy saplings.

Farmers are eagerly awaiting a field-level study by the agriculture department, as it would enable them to get input subsidy or crop compensation.

Congress Kisan cell state president Sunket Anvesh Reddy alleged that the state government has not been paying crop damage compensation to farmers for the past eight years. Reddy cited an instance of a visit by a group of ministers to damaged agricultural fields failing to elicit compensation, despite assurances.

Meanwhile, officials of agriculture universities issued guidelines to farmers to minimise crop damages, especially for saplings of cotton, maize, soya bean and pulses.

Sai Reddy, a farmer from Balkonda mandal of Nizamabad told Deccan Chronicle that the state government must immediately declare compensation for crop damages. “Farmers will incur heavy losses due to crop damages as they lack crop insurance facility. The state government should declare a schedule for assessment of crop damages in agriculture fields,” he said.

Adding that he had not witnessed such heavy rains in July, Reddy said that the inflows at the Sri Ram Sagar project have reached record levels.