The heavy rain across the state since September, which has damaged agricultural and horticultural crops, mainly in South Interior and Coastal Karnataka, has brought into focus the need for ways to scientifically mitigate flood- and heavy rainfall-related crop damage and insulate the farming community from losses.
The effects of multiple cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea had a telling effect on Karnataka’s farming community as well as people. While South-Interior Karnataka received about 150 per cent excess rainfall, Coastal Karnataka received about 100 per cent excess, while North-Interior Karnataka was spared the wrath with just about 10 per cent excess rainfall.
Although the quantum of loss is yet to be assessed, the State Government has reported that at least five lakh hectares of agricultural crops and a little over 30,000 hectares of horticultural crops were damaged due to heavy rains and floods. Twenty four lives were also lost. Rabi and Kharif crops are planned for normal seasons. There are many new varieties which have been developed by researchers, which are weather-resilient. But unfortunately, they remain only in the labs, say agriculture experts from the University of Agricultural Sciences.
Noted agriculture expert Dr T N Prakash Kammardi, Professor of Agricultural Economics at UAS, Bengaluru, says research and development and strong policies are needed to address the issue of soil loss, crop damage and planning for the future. He says planning according to normal monsoon periods — south-west and north-east — has to be for prolonged monsoon periods as unprecedented rain is the new normal, and policies need to be chalked accordingly for disaster and damage mitigation.
“Karnataka has many noted research institutions which are recognised by the State and Central governments, but works done by these institutions are not being taken into consideration. The result of this is poor planning and no implementation on the ground. Farmers must be made stakeholders and members of committees on cropping pattern plans, as their lives are directly affected,” Kammardi says.
The reasoning behind his suggestion is that when farmers are included in policy and decision-making, adoption of technologies and new cropping patterns, they will be in a better position to ensure implementation.That has largely not happened, and the catastrophic result of that is now on display.
In Hassan, the traditional ragi crop has been damaged in over 35,000 hectares followed by maize, an alternative to potato, on 10,000 hectares.
Farmers in parts of Belur, Holenarasipur, Arkalgud and Channarayapatna could not harvest crops as the seeds got decomposed in the fields due to heavy moisture. In all, Hassan has reported damage to standing crops on 60,000 hectares due to rains.
Experts, who inspected the areas, say the main reason for this damage is the lack of trees, which, in turn, left the soil vulnerable to erosion. Anuganalu Krishnamurthy, Secretary, Biodiversity Conservation and Research Trust (BCRT), says trees control floods and soil erosion. “Farmers should grow trees across the downstream and stem the force of flowing rainwater. This is an easy and natural method to control rain damage of crops,” he says.
After assessing the gradient on which the fields are located, farmers, aided by the Agriculture Department, also need to construct a series of mini tanks and ponds at appropriate points where water can collect and avoid flooding elsewhere. Krishnamurthy says this serves two benefits — having additional water for future use as well as preventing water from stagnating on the fields and damaging seeds and roots of the crops.
A H Ravi, Joint Director, Agriculture, points out that farmers normally stick to traditional and seasonal crops in Hassan district. It would be better for them to opt for sustainable varieties of crops. As the standing crops cannot survive uncertain rains and natural calamities due to climate change, the department has been educating the farming community on how to protect crops from diseases and floods. The department also educates farmers about scientific methods of ploughing to control soil erosion, modern cultivation and harvesting methods through demonstrations to save crops and get better yield, he claims.
However, the ground situation is different mainly because implementation at the farmers’ level is not closely looked at despite tips and information being imparted. For instance, in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, the normal paddy cultivation is that of the MO4 variety. Santhosh Acharya, who grows paddy on three acres in Udupi, says most of the farmers who lost their crops are those who grew the MO4 variety, and have suffered losses now.
This, despite the wide understanding that this variety is unable to survive heavy rainfall and floods, as against the flood-resistant ‘Sahyadri Panchamukhi’ (called Irga) variety). According to scientists at the Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station (ZAHRS), Irga is more suited for the region, which is known to receive heavy rainfall.
In 2019, ZAHRS and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at Brahmavar had launched the Irga variety of paddy, but it has not yet been popularised. There is now a move to introduce this variety over larger areas of the region by including farmers and raising their awareness about it.
Dr Laxman, Associate Director (Research), ZAHRS, says Irga is yet to be developed as a certified seed and reach more farmers. “In the last two years, since its introduction, multi-field trials have been conducted, and in the years to come, if the government releases more funds for more research, the seeds can be readied for vast distribution among farmers,’’ he says.
LACK OF SUNLIGHT AND PLANT INFECTIONS
Prolonged periods without sunlight and heavy rain have not only affected plant growth, but also ushered in infections. Experts say there needs for an alternative source of heat and light that can keep plants adequately dry to ensure their good health to deal with situations like this.
Horticulture expert Dr S G Golagi, says, “In a random survey, we found plants were infected with fungal diseases like powdery mildew, anthracnose, downy mildew and also other bacterial diseases, which impact growth of leaves and the stem and lead to bus bursts. Plants have barely witnessed any sunlight for many days due to cloudy weather. This has a greater impact on their growth. Sunlight plays a vital role in protecting plants from bacterial diseases. Therefore, it is important to keep plants and seeds dry.”
Golagi says scientific recommendations have been made to prevent plants from bacterial infections.
Experts, however, point out that any alternative to sunlight to keep plants adequately warm and dry will be relatively expensive as that will mean setting up large-sized nursery-type structures or polyhouses (greenhouse with specialised polythene sheets as a covering material under which crops can be grown) which can be quickly disassembled when natural light is available.
“These should be sparingly used to ensure more of natural light and heat, but they will be required, seeing the kind of prolonged rainy season that we have had without any sunlight,” said one expert. The state government will have to step in to ensure such structures are put in place as only a handful of farmers will be able to afford them, he adds.
COFFEE OR TEA? THAT’s THE QUESTION
Members of the Coffee Board and farmers forums say while coffee growers suffered losses this year because of rain, tea plantations improved. The areas where tea is grown should be enhanced and the money earned should be utilised to help farmers. This is a clear self-explanatory note before the government to take a look at the areas where there are plantations. Although the market for coffee is booming, change in weather patterns has affected the sector. Small growers in Kodagu have suffered losses. Coffee Board officials are visiting the affected estates across Kodagu and are drawing up plans to support small growers. Officials say a proposal has already been forwarded to the State Government for subsidies to small growers to set up green houses and coffee drying machines.
(With inputs from Bosky Khanna in Bengaluru; Prajna G R in Madikeri; Udaya Kumar B R in Hassan; Prakash Samaga in Udupi; Mahesh Goudar in Vijayapura; Divya Cutinho in Mangaluru and B Thipperudrappa in Chikkamagaluru)