Delay in the arrival of monsoon and uneven distribution of rain have dragged down the sowing of Kharif crops, particularly paddy, as compared to 2018.
Large parts of Uttar Pradesh, including semi-arid Bundelkhand region, face a drought-like situation due to monsoon deficit, which is hitting paddy plantation and posing a threat to the timely sowing of other Kharif crops like pulses, maize, oilseeds, groundnut etc.
Although authorities avoid admitting a drought-like situation in UP, the state government is keeping a close watch and working on an action plan to deal with the situation if it worsens. “Certainly, there is a monsoon deficit causing concern to us, but it will be too early to say there is drought in the state as the monsoon is not over and rains can still come anytime,” said an agricultural scientist of UP Council of Agriculture Research (UPCAR) Dr Vinod Tewari.
He said that an advisory might be issued to farmers in case sufficient rainfall remained elusive for a week or two.
The agricultural scientist, however, said, “If rains are delayed by over a week, then it will affect sowing of the long-duration variety of paddy, two weeks’ delay will adversely impact the medium variety and a month-long delay will damage the short-term crop of paddy.”
Countering the optimism of UPCAR and state government, Barabanki farmer Anand Singh, who produces foundation seed for UP Seeds Corporation, said, “Paddy farmers will lose as the rain delay has already added to the cost of production. The government’s policy of minimum support price (MSP) can never compensate the farmers.”
Dubbing the MSP as ‘maximum support, minimum price’, Singh said, “The benefit of MSP reaches a small section of farmers who produce surplus to sell in markets and to government agencies procuring paddy and wheat.”
The Met department’s data available with the UPCAR shows that actual rainfall so far has been 36.1 mm against the normal of 88.7 mm by June end, thereby indicating a rain deficit of 60 per cent.
The maximum rainfall of 7.2 mm has been recorded in Jhansi district and the minimum of 0.2 mm rainfall in Sonebhadra district against the normal of 88.7 mm rainfall by June end.
The situation is the worst in Bundelkhand, one of the state’s four economic zones. This region has received only 37.1 per cent of normal rains during the period followed by eastern UP with 47 per cent of normal rains.