Uttar Pradesh farmers are staring at heavy losses. The unseasonal excessive rainfall has led to water-logging in cities and towns across the state but it has been worse for farmers in rural areas. The rains have inundated fields, causing damage to standing paddy, maize and newly-cultivated potato crops. Millets like bajra and pulses like Urad have also been affected.
With less than normal rains during monsoon and excess rainfall after it, farmers in Uttar Pradesh are staring at heavy losses and an uncertain future. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, 67 out of 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh recorded excess rainfall last week (after September 30).
Even as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to take measures to provide assistance to farmers hit by the adverse weather conditions, many believe the efforts might be too little, too late.
A potato farmer in Etawah, said, "We sow the early potato varieties by the end of September. But this year, around seven hectare of our potato farm has been affected by heavy rains. The fields are filled with water which causes rotting of the sown potato tubers."
He said if excess rains continued, it would be difficult to sow the late variety of potatoes.
Etawah recorded 81 mm of average rainfall in the first week of October which is 876 per cent more than the long period average (LPA) of 8.3 mm.
Gonda district recorded 248.6 mm rainfall in the same period which is 883 per cent higher than the long period average of 25.3 mm. The farmers in the district are worried about the fate of the paddy crop as the standing crop of paddy has fallen to the ground due to heavy rains. The farmers fear total loss of the crop if the rain continues.
Relief Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh, Prabhu Narayan Singh, said, “The rains recorded in the state have been excess as compared to the LPA. We have asked the districts to submit data related to the impact of rains on farmers and their crops. The damage to the crops is also being assessed.”
Singh declined to comment on the scale of the damage to crops across the state. “We will be in a better position to comment on the damage once we have the data, which is expected by next week. However, the district authorities have been advised to take all measures to provide assistance to farmers in case of crop loss,” he said.
The situation the Relief department is dealing with now is opposite to what the situation was almost a fortnight ago. Last month, the Relief department was collecting data regarding lack of rainfall during the monsoon.
As per the IMD data, Uttar Pradesh recorded almost 30 per cent less rainfall this monsoon (June 1 to September 30). Because of this, 53 of the 75 districts of the state recorded deficient rainfall. The lack of rainfall too harmed farmers by affecting their Kharif crops.
Farmers in Rampur and other districts in the Terai belt, which is known for its paddy cultivation, have been affected due to weak and delayed monsoon. The farmers were not able to cultivate the paddy, and if they did, not all of them were able to irrigate the crops properly. In the Terai region almost all the farmers have been hit by the weak monsoon this year. Those with small land holdings have been hit worse.