Another drought year at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh?
VIJAYAWADA: Peram Janardhan Reddy, like any other farmer of Chandragiri, a small village in Penukonda mandal of Anantapur district, looks at the sky, hoping to see the dark clouds only to be disappointed. Reddy and several other farmers in the village with a population of around 2,400 have been keeping a close watch on the weather as their hopes were raised in May last week when the pre-monsoon showers blessed parts of the drought-hit Anantapur.
Occasional rains for the next three weeks, only made them eagerly take up tilling and sowing their prime crop - groundnut. But all has changed since last week of June and till day there has been no sign of rain bearing clouds. “We are worried. Will monsoon yet again fail us? We pray not,” he says.
There has been a dry spell in Anantapur district for the past three weeks. According to meteorologists, the district has a deficient rainfall of 23.7 per cent from normal this season. Reddy’s family who owns 20 acres of land, raises groundnut in 10 acres. Red gram and other crops are cultivated in the remaining 10 acres. Since the commencement of rains, groundnut has been sown only in three acres.
“Not satisfied with the poor quality of seed we get from government depots, I purchased the farm inputs from private dealers by spending Rs 100 per kg,” Reddy said.
One acre requires 70 to 80 kg of seeds. The total sowing cost comes to Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per acre. In Anantapur, groundnut has been sown in 1,85,892 hectares in Kharif as against the normal acreage of 6.04 lakh hectares. It is less than 25% of the normal extent of the crop area in the district. As on date last year, groundnut crop was sown in 3.84 lakh acres, that is over 50%.
“Seeding season is till July 30 only and in extreme cases it goes beyond it by a week at the risk of getting low yield. After that, most of the farmers would not like to take the risk,” says YV Malla Reddy, groundwater and agriculture expert.Though groundnut is low water intensive and drought resistant crop, it has been failing in Anantapur, which is experiencing severe drought. Last year 85 per cent of the crop was lost due to lack of adequate irrigation water. As on date, the groundwater level recorded was 26.04 metres below the ground level.
Anantapur MP Ananta Venkatarami Reddy said as a farmer, he knows the situation. If the dry spell continues for another two weeks it is not good. “We can only take up sowing till the first week of August and later even if we do it, we will not get any yield,” he adds.
The three-month crop is normally harvested in October, provided there are some good bouts of rain in between during the growing stage of groundnut.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar reviewing the situation in the State, had directed the officials to provide water through mobile rain guns for providing the much-needed crop wetting. Officials informed him that 15 companies have come forward to provide mobile rain guns for 49 mandals in Anantapur district.
“They did that exercise last year also, but the crops have failed. If it is to be transported over long distances it will be a costly affair,” Malla Reddy pointed out.