After a fine monsoon season, Chhattisgarh is expecting to for a bumper paddy output this season. It is being predicted that Chhattisgarh which is also known as rice bowl of India would produce about 1.25 crore metric tonnes of paddy this year.
According to official data, this year, paddy crop has been sown in an area of about 37.80 lakh hectare which is about 20,000 hectare more than last year. In 2013 also, the State had received good rainfall which yielded copious harvest. Initially this year the monsoon was delayed which had sparked uncertainty among farmer about the paddy crop, however the monsoon extending till September compensated the initial dry phase of monsoon.
Farmers are hopeful that this year also paddy produce will be more than sufficient. Farmer are of view that the harvest time which starts after Diwali festival is expected to last till December.
Apart from paddy, other kharif crops like Soybean is also expected to yield well this year. Mainly paddy is cultivated in Dhamtari, Janjgir, Raipur, Durg and Rajnandgaon districts. last year the State had seen produce of about 1.10 crore metric tonnes of paddy, out of which around 75 lakh metric ton was purchased by State government on support price. Remaining crop was sold in open market or in Agriculture Produce Marketing Yards.
The jump in sowing area by 20,000 hectares has increased hope of a bumper reap this year. So far, there has been no outbreak of any kind of major disease that could hamper the crop of large level and all areas are reported to have good crop.