Most Karimnagar Farmers Sowing Paddy Despite Advice to Grow Alternate Crops
Senior scientist B. Ramprasad said except one paddy variety – Telangana Sona – no other variety could possibly survive if sown at this time.
KARIMNAGAR: Despite repeated official appeals against cultivation of paddy, most farmers are going ahead with the paddy crop in erstwhile Karimnagar district.
In the wake of India Meteorological Department’s alert about deficit rainfall during this monsoon season due to the El Nino effect, the state government and officials at all levels have advised farmers to stay away from cultivating paddy during this Kharif season and go for irrigated dry (ID) crops.
Agriculture department officials went on to educate farmers by conducting meetings at village levels. On many farmers’ insistence, officials advised them to go only for short duration paddy varieties.
However, farmers have chosen to wait till the state witnessed heavy downpour in the last week of July. Despite being aware that the sudden rains are due to a cyclone, they have started planting paddy. One lakh acres of paddy has been sown during the last one week in Karimnagar district alone.
Paddy crop had already been sown over 80,000 acres in the beginning of the monsoon season. At the end of July, the spread of paddy had reached 1.92 lakh acres as against the targeted 2.79 lakh acres for the Kharif season.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a farmer from Pachunur in Manakondur mandal of Karimnagar district P. Malla Reddy maintained that the recent rainfall would help the paddy crop to survive up to one month. Water will be required only after the month.
Farmers say that in the interim, water levels in irrigation projects are increasing. The ground water table has also gone up a bit. Water springs in agricultural wells would also increase, Malla Reddy stated.
Karimnagar Agriculture Research Station senior scientist B. Ramprasad said except one paddy variety – Telangana Sona – no other variety could possibly survive if sown at this time.
