BENGALURU: While the state is reeling under drought, several villages in Ramanagara and Magadi taluks of Bengaluru South district stand out for their lush greenery along both sides of the roads. But that has not brought smiles to the farmers’ faces here. Reason: Untimely and deficit rain has made an impact on crop yield. While in some parts, there is no crop at all, many other patches have crops with either less yield or drastically reduced crop size.
Bengaluru South district, formerly Ramanagara district, is about 50 km from Bengaluru. It comprises four taluks--Ramanagara, Magadi, Channapatna, and Kanakapura, represented by Chief Minister
DK Shivakumar. While Ramanagara and Magadi are officially drought-hit, the other two taluks are also severely affected. The district received 358 mm of rain against the normal 436 mm during the southwest monsoon. Agriculture here largely depends on borewells, canals and rainwater. Though a large number of farmers here depend on sericulture, an equally good number of farmers here grow ragi, coconut, mango and other crops.
Chandrashekaraiah, a farmer from Koonagallu village in Ramanagara taluk, owns 110 mango trees. “Here, Mango trees usually start flowering in November. This year, however, new green leaves are budding now and flowering may be delayed until February. The flowers will then develop into raw mangoes and then ripe into fruits. We do not know how much yield we will get, but it is likely to be very low. We did not receive rain when we needed it in June and July. Now, we have received a few spells of rain, but they are of little use,” he said, expressing his helplessness.
Raghavendra from the same village owns a coconut farm that has 30 trees. “We get crops every two months. Normally, I get around 1,000 coconuts, this time, it has reduced to half. Even the size of the coconut has become small,” he says.
These are, mostly, small and marginal farmers. Nagaraju, another farmer from Attimgere village who owns 26 guntas of land, said he had sown horse gram instead of ragi this season due to rainfall deficit. “I do not have a borewell on my land and we depend entirely on rain,” he said. According to him, the only greenery seen in and around the village will help provide fodder for cattle.
Bhavan, a college student who also does farming and hails from Chendurayanahalli village in Magadi, said they had sowed ragi twice this year. But on both occasions, there were no green shoots. “If we had rains in August, we would not have come to this stage,” he said.
Then there are other issues.
Puttaswamachari is into dairy farming and does not have land to grow grass. He has taken 10 gunta land on lease for a year where he can grow fodder for his cows. “With no rains, we are depending on borewell water. I am paying Rs 200 per hour for borewell water,” he says. A big bundle of dry grass which used to cost Rs 200 is now being sold at Rs 350, adding to the financial burden of farmers.
Ramanagara, widely known as the silk city because of its large sericulture sector, has not escaped the crisis. Mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing are affected by the dry spell, raising costs for farmers. Nagaraja from Gangarajanahalli said mulberry leaf production had declined, forcing farmers to spend more to maintain silkworm rearing.
“Those who have borewells can survive, while others have to spend more. A bundle of mulberry leaves that earlier cost `300 is now being sold for `500. Heat stress has reduced leaf production and the dry spell has also increased mite attacks, further affecting the yield,” he said.
Interestingly, while the dry spell can help improve cocoon quality, sudden changes in weather at the crucial stage of cocoon formation can prove damaging. “Mulberry plants need water, but cocoon formation is better in dry weather. We had spent money buying mulberry leaves, but just as the cocoons were growing, it began raining over the past couple of days. The moist atmosphere is damaging the cocoons. It is a double whammy for us,”said another farmer from the same village.
The impact of the dry spell extends beyond farms to Ramanagara’s silk-reeling industry, which requires water for its operations. With water becoming scarce, some units have turned to private tankers to meet their needs. Chetan, who works at a silk-reeling unit in Ramanagara city, said the cost of water had doubled. A half-tanker load that earlier cost `300 now costs `600.
Whether it is growing crops, rearing silkworms or keeping cattle, farmers across the district are paying the price for the rainfall deficit. From failed ragi sowing to shrinking mango and coconut yields, the rainfall deficit has left farmers with more expenses and fewer returns.