The delay in monsoon has apparently affected the sowing operations in the State. A little over 5% of the season’s normal sowing operations were completed as on July 5.
According to information, the Agriculture Department has targeted to bring 35.75 lakh hectares under cultivation during the kharif season this year. This includes 15.88 lakh hectares of paddy. The total target for food grains is 21.39 lakh hectares. As against the total estimated cropped area of 34.39 lakh hectares, kharif operations started only in 5.23 lakh hectares. It was noticed that the paddy cultivation commenced only in 1.61 lakh hectares, which is 6% of the normal season in the State. The sowing operations stand at 46% of the total cropped area, officials say.
The average rainfall received in the State is 88 mm as against the normal of 114.7 mm as on July 5. The deficit rainfall has been put at 23.3%. The farmers were apparently nervous till a few days back. Sowing operations for paddy, chilli, cotton and groundnut are yet to pick up.
Seed distribution is under progress. It was estimated that the cotton would be cultivated in 1.55 lakh acres by the end of June, but it was sown only in 32,000 acres. Similarly, the groundnut cultivation was estimated to be around 1.77 lakh acres by the end of June, but only 88,000 acres was covered till date, sources say.
When contacted, AP Agriculture Mission Vice Chairman M.V.S. Nagi Reddy said that farmers wait for the showers to take up paddy cultivation. With the rains lashing the State, the paddy sowing would gain momentum, he said. The farmers fear that a dry spell might push them into losses. So, the paddy farmers, usually, wait for the rains even though the irrigation facilities were available. The farmers will not incur any loss even if the sowing operations were delayed by about fortnight. The harvesting would be delayed by that time, he says.
Tenant Farmers Association secretary Maganti Haribabu says that the tenant farmers have begun tilling operations though the Crop Cultivator Rights Cards (CCRC) were not issued. The delay in sowing might not be an immediate problem for the farmers. But, any natural calamity at the time of harvest was a cause of concern, he said.
Bringing cheer in the farmers, the agricultural operations have apparently picked up following rain for the last three days in the state. The Southwest monsoon has entered some parts of Rayalaseema region on June 11 and in Coastal A.P. on June 19.
