BARIPADA: Farmers of Mayurbhanj district have a reason to cheer as the prolonged dry spell seems to have finally ended.
Canals, dams and water reservoirs like Suno, Kalo, Deo and Sulei now have adequate water for meeting the irrigation needs of farmers in the district. Incessant rains for the last three days has changed the agriculture scenario in the area with farmers taking up agriculture activities with enthusiasm using both modern and traditional equipment.
Deputy Director of Agriculture, Mayurbhanj Damodar Sethi said rains over the last three days have brought a new lease of life for paddy saplings which had almost dried up owing to a dry spell in May and June.
He said the district has received 188.50 mm rainfall against the normal monthly average of 305 mm as of Sunday. As per reports, around 46 to 50 per cent farming activities have been completed by the farmers in this Kharif season. Sethi said check dams and reservoirs play a key role in irrigating farmlands in the district where re-planting of paddy saplings starts from mid-July.
The Agriculture Department has set a target to cover 4,37,000 hectare (ha) land across the district under Kharif cultivation. Of this, 1,58,891 ha land is irrigated while 2,78,109 ha is rain-fed. It has been planned to cultivate high-yielding variety and local paddy on around 2,92,000 ha land this year.
The district had received 176.43 mm rainfall against the normal average of 265 mm in June, a deficit of at least 88.57 mm. Until mid-July, just 90.35 mm rainfall had been received in the district.