The unpredictable rain patterns in the State have heightened the misery of farmers as thousands of hectares of crops were washed away this year by pre-monsoon rains. According to government data, agricultural crops on 9,581.62 hectares of land and horticultural crops on 12,060.86 hectares were lost due to rain between March and May.
Bidar, which often sees periods of drought, has received excessive rainfall this year, thereby facing the worst crop loss. The district received a total of 200 mm rainfall between March and May, which is a 235% departure from normal, according to the database of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). As a result, a total of 5,577 hectares of agricultural crops and 1,292 hectares of horticultural crops were washed away in the district.
Similarly, in Yadgir, where 1,115.73 hectares of agricultural crops were lost, 98 mm rainfall was recorded during pre-monsoon, which was a 62% departure from normal rainfall. These two districts were followed by Davanagere, Raichur and Chitradurga districts which were also majorly affected by agricultural crop loss.
Across the State, 3,750 hectares of jowar, 1,782 hectares of paddy, 920 hectares of safflower, 843.94 hectares of bajra and 711 hectares of wheat crops were destroyed during the pre-monsoon period. “This was the Rabi crop sowing season and the unexpected rains interfered with the farmers’ plans. We do not usually see this kind of rainfall in North Karnataka region, let alone hailstorms. As the rainfall was well above the normal amounts this time, we had to see this scale of crop loss,” said a senior official in the Department of Agriculture.
A recently retired senior official from the Agriculture Department spoke about the changing climatic conditions that are hampering crops in the State. “There is either drought or floods every alternate year. Both agricultural and horticultural crops are lost either to excess rain or deficit of rain, especially in the northern parts of the State. This year, the changing climactic conditions and the hailstorms were the main factors in the crop loss. However, work has been taken up by both departments and local administrations to provide tertiary compensation to farmers,” said the official.
Often having smaller crop cycles than agricultural crops, horticulture farmers bear the brunt of seasonal calamities frequently. Around ₹201.6 crore worth of horticulture crops have been destroyed in the last few months, Horticulture Department officials said.
Seasonal favourite mango and Kolar, the district where it is grown the most, have figured on the top of the crop loss list. Around 7,257 hectares of horticultural crop loss was witnessed in Kolar.
Mangoes on a total of 6,750.5 hectares were lost recently rattling the already struggling mango farmers. This was followed by grapes (1,639.3 hectares), tomato (1,125.89 hectares), banana, papaya, onion, arecanut and pomegranate. The loss of these crops has led to a hike in the prices of fruits and vegetables in Bengaluru.
The Horticulture Department has estimated that according to the guidelines provided by NDRF and SDRF, ₹34.66 crore was needed to provide compensation to the farmers. “Mangoes in Kolar and Bidar have been hit badly, along with a few other crops due to the rain and thunderstorms this year. However, we cannot say that 100% crop loss occurred on all 12,000 hectares. Parts of it could be salvaged,” said Rajender Kumar Kataria, Principal secretary, Horticulture Department until Thursday.
