BERHAMPUR: Continuous rain for the last three days is likely to damage around 50 per cent of kharif paddy crop in Ganjam district.
Farmers, who were hoping for a bumper harvest, now apprehend huge yield loss as their crops are soaking in rainwater. The worst-hit by the untimely rain are sharecroppers who are neither officially counted as farmers nor eligible for crop insurance.
Sources said most of the sharecroppers and small farmers had cultivated paddy by taking hand loans. They had hoped to repay the loans after harvesting their crops. However, the rain has dashed all their hopes.
After the rains last week, many farmers had left their harvested paddy to dry in the fields. But the fresh spell of rain has inundated crop fields and the harvested paddy is under water. This will lead to discolouration of paddy. Besides, a sizable quantity of paddy will germinate, said a farmer.
A farmer leader said incidents of sharecroppers taking the extreme step over crop loss are common in the region. If the administration does not provide a special package to the affected farmers, some may end their lives out of frustration.
On Saturday, Ganjam received over 58 mm rainfall. Agriculture experts said if the rain stops on Sunday, it will take around 10 days for the crop fields to dry up.
Sources in the district agriculture office said this year, paddy has been cultivated in 1.79 lakh hectare of land and more than 70 per cent of the crops have already been harvested.
Chief district agriculture officer RN Panda admitted that the rain will cause significant damage to paddy crops. He said farmers have been advised to store their harvested paddy at safer places and cover it with polythene sheets. Crop damage assessment would be carried out as soon as the rain stops, he added.