The prevailing drought situation in Karnataka, coupled with erratic spells of untimely rainfall, has hit pulses production, with the September harvest of green gram already down by 80%, while the standing red gram (tur), that is coming for harvest in December, likely to be down by 60%. Chana and chickpeas yield may also be very poor due a failed monsoon, as per information The Hindu gathered from multiple sources.
In the current crop year, the pulse production in the whole country is estimated to be 14.5 lakh metric tonnes, below the annual consumption of 17.45 lakh metric tonnes.
Sad plight of farmers
Veerendra, a farmer at Indrapad Hosalli in Chincholi taluk of Kalaburagi district, had cultivated green gram (moong) on eight acres, black gram (urad) on four acres and red gram (tur) on 18 acres. He is devastated as all crops are destroyed, by excessive rains in June-July and dry spell that followed.
Samad Patel, Joint Director of Agriculture said the red gram crop was cultivated on 5,95,240 hectares of which the crop on 1,94,969 (32.75%) hectares was destroyed in drought in Kalaburagi, a major pulses-producing district in the State. Black gram was sown in 20072 hectares of which the crop on 5,854 (29.16%) hectares was destroyed.
However, farmers say that this is a conservative estimate. As per Sharanabasappa Mamshetty, District President of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, over 80% of the green gram sown in the district is destroyed. Most pulse farmers The Hindu spoke to in the Kalaburagi region had similar stories to tell.
In June, Kalaburagi district received deficit -43% of the average rainfall. In July, it received +93% rain. In August, it received, -82% and in September it received +10%. In October, till date, the district received -83% rainfall. This kind of fluctuation is not good for any crop, said Mr. Patel.
“I have taken ₹ 80,000 hand loans from the local money lender to cultivate green gram and black gram. The entire corps is destroyed. I cultivated red gram by taking additional loans. Now it is withering when it is supposed to be flowing/blossoming,’‘ Mr. Veerendra lamented. He wants to remove the dying crop and sow Bengal gram (chickpea) or jowar, but has no money for it.
Yeshwanth Ari, a farmer from Ratkal village who had sown green gram on seven acres and black gram on three acres and lost all of it, said, “There was rain when I sowed the seeds. But, drought hit the crops at the crucial flowering and pod formation stages. I got only one bag of green gram yield and half a bag of black gram, against the usual 30 bags and 18 bags respectively,’‘ rued Mr. Ari. With over ₹ 1.5 lakh loan, Mr. Ari said he cannot afford to sow Bengal gram now.
Supply-demand mismatch
Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, President of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), formerly Secretary of Bangalore Wholesale Pulses and Food Grains Merchants’ Association, told The Hindu that the State may see a huge supply-demand mismatch. “We are now going to be totally dependent on imports to fill this gap and we have to change this situation and become sufficient in pulses,’‘ Mr. Lahoti said.
Karnataka is the third largest producer of tur in the country after Gujarat and Maharashtra. The State accounts for 20% of the country’s total production of tur, moong, chana, jowar and maize.
