BENGALURU: Pre-kharif sowing has started in Karnataka after much delay this year. Good showers in the past few weeks came as relief to distressed farmers, however, due to excess moisture in the soil at many places, sowing has not been done as per target so far.
According to KSNDMC data, from May 1 till date, the State saw an average of 127mm of rain, as against an average of 60mm. While South Interior Karnataka recorded 162mm rainfall as against its norm of 74mm, North Interior Karnataka recorded 76mm against an average of 40mm, Malnad recorded 203mm against 81mm, and Coastal Karnataka recorded 159mm against an average of 86mm.
The rain, though, is helping farmers fill up their ponds and recharge groundwater, though in some parts, the earth is soggy, preventing them from taking up sowing. As per data provided by the agriculture department, the sowing target for the pre-kharif season is 2.95 lakh hectares. As on May 24, sowing was done on 0.943 lakh hectares, which is less than one lakh hectares. During the same period last year, sowing had been completed on over two lakh hectares.
Former KSNDMC director Srinivas Reddy told The New Indian Express that normally, sowing would have started by April-end, but this year, farmers could not take it up due to lack of rain. In some places, they could not even take up pre-monsoon preparations as the land was dry, and could not start sowing.
Reddy, however, said farmers can go for a second crop this time as good rain is expected during the monsoon. “There has been delay by 15 days to three weeks, and farmers who want to take up a second crop need not worry,” he said.