Ramnad farmers sow paddy in 70% of total cultivation area in September
RAMANATHAPURAM: Owing to nominal rainfall in September, farmers have begun paddy sowing works in more than 70% of the total cultivation area in the district. Officials said farmers are likely to begin the works soon and that the acreage is likely to exceed last year’s record.
After facing a massive loss due to drought during the previous year, more than 98,354 hectares (73% of the total paddy cultivation) had withered. According to IMD, the district received an average of 52.6 mm rainfall in September and 2.6 mm rainfall in the first two days of October. As per recently released reports,the season is most likely to be normal (88-112% of Long Period Average (LPA) despite the El Nino effect.
A senior agricultural official told TNIE while the entire farmerfolk are yet to begin sowing works at Thirupulani block (0% ), works are moving slowly in Ramanathapuram block (10%) “Farmers in the rest of the blocks have completed the sowing process. Based on the rainfall, remaining farmers are likely to start the works soon and the acreage is likely to exceed last year’s total cultivation area of 1.35 lakh hectares,” he added.
Another official said the drought relief and crop insurance cover have been completely distributed to farmers who faced failure in last year’s season. Ravi, a farmer, said, “With the onset of monsoon, farmers have started samba works in the district. We cannot give up cultivation just because of last year’s failure.”
District collector Vishnu Chandran issued an advisory regarding the sale of fake fertilisers in some villages. “Farmers should be aware about the fertilisers they use in their fields, and should purchase only from govt co-op or prominent shops. Officials have been asked to inquire about such fake fertilisers in the market,” he added.
