BENGALURU: Drought in Karnataka has begun to impact rice production and its prices, with retail rates of several varieties of rice rising by Rs 25-30 per kg over the last three months.
One of the major rice-producing states, Karnataka is expected to see lower production this year as sowing in June was low. With harvesting beginning in November, traders and industry experts anticipate tighter supplies in the coming months.
Paddy is grown largely in Tungabhadra and Cauvery river basins, including Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Vijayanagara, Mysuru, Mandya and some parts of Malnad. Karnataka normally cultivates paddy in around 13 lakh hectares annually, but this year, it has reduced by over four lakh hectares due to severe drought in both basins.
The price of Sona Masuri variety in the wholesale market has increased from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 75 to Rs 80. Similarly, Kolam rice, which was around Rs 75 per kg, is reaching Rs 100.
Paddy’s high water use raises concern as dams run dry
AB Patil, president of the Institute of Agricultural Technologists and former agriculture adviser to the State Government, said paddy is one of the highest water-consuming crops. To produce 1 kg of paddy, it requires 3,500 litres to 4,000 litres of water. With dams running dry, farmers at the tail end of canals will not get water.
It is better for them to grow crops like pulses, oil seeds or ragi, but not paddy, he suggested. Prof MB Rajegowda, agrometeorologist and former registrar, University of Agriculture Sciences, told TNIE that paddy sowing in Karnataka occurs in June /July, while harvesting stretches from October to November and sometimes to December. But this year, sowing has reduced drastically.
“As rain was not up to the mark, dams are running dry. In the Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir belt, as the government has prioritised drinking water, there will be no discharge of water into irrigation canals. Farmers have not taken up sowing,” he said.
Farmers in Raichur and Ballari said that in a normal year, they get two crops, but this year, the situation is so bad that they have not even taken up a single crop. Farmers would harvest paddy in April/May and then again in October/November. In the two districts, normally, if the southwest monsoon is good, the northeast monsoon fails, and vice-versa. In those years, they get a chance to take advantage of at least one season. But this year, the El Nino effect has put paid to that, affecting sowing, cultivation and production.
Millers said that they are buying paddy at Rs 4,400 per quintal that was Rs 3,000 a few months ago. “Our purchase price now is equal to what we used to sell it for earlier,” a mill owner said. Earlier, he sold rice for Rs 4,600 to Rs 5,300 per quintal to dealers, but now he is selling it for Rs 7,500. Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Advisor of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), said the price of rice on an average has increased by Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg. “We are expecting to go up by another Rs 10 in the next one month to six weeks,” he cautioned.