Revival of the southwest monsoon in the second fortnight of July has raised hopes, albeit belatedly, among farmers in drought-prone Prakasam district to go for sowing of Kharif crops.
The district recorded a 25% deficit rainfall in June as it experienced only 43.2 mm of rainfall in June as against the normal rainfall of 57.9 mm with only five rainy days. However, rainfall activity picked up in July with 11 rainy days especially in the fag-end, according to a report compiled by the Agriculture Department. The district, with a major portion of the arable land being rainfed, recorded 71.2 mm as against the normal rainfall of 87.8 mm in the second month of the southwest monsoon season.
As a result, the crop coverage was a mere 5% of the normal cropped area of 2.17 lakh hectares. However, there is still hope as the Kharif and Rabi cropping seasons overlap in the district, said Agriculture Joint Director S. Srinivasa Rao.
