like other parts of the State, pest attack on paddy crops has hit the farmers in many parts of Subarnapur district and the situation is stated to be alarming.
The district administration has submitted a report to appraise the State Government on the extent of damage of paddy crops in the district due to pest attacks.
As per the report, 30,167 hectare of farmland in the district is in the grip of pest attacks by which 84 gram panchayats and 402 villages have been affected. The worst affected areas are the 152 villages under 21 GPs and urban local bodies (UlB) like Tarbha and Binka NAC, have 24 hectare and 97.165 hectare paddy affected by pests respectively.
The report said the Tarbha block has the maximum affected areas of 152 villages and the least affected block was Birmaharajpur with just one village.
Irrigated areas were more vulnerable to pest attacks, while 4,388.641 hectare in irrigated areas were affected by pests and 314.273 hectare in non-irrigated land were hit by a as the use of pesticides is more in irrigated areas compared to non-Irrigated land.
Binka is the worst affected block in the district with more than 50 percent of crops in 2,184 hectares in irrigated land being affected by pests while 276 hectares in rain fed land were hit.