JAGATSINGHPUR: The shortage of agriculture officers in Jagatsinghpur has added to the misery of farmers who are staring at huge losses after their paddy and vegetable crops were exposed to untimely rainfall.
Absence of an adequate number of agriculture officers is reportedly delaying crop loss assessment in the district, leaving the farmers in a lurch.
Sources said the untimely rains last week caused significant damage to paddy and vegetable crops in vast tracts of agriculture lands in Balikuda, Naugaon, Biridi, Jagatsinghpur, Tirtol, Erasama, Raghunathpur and Kujang areas. While farmers were yet to recover from the unexpected crop damage, fresh showers in the last two days have pushed them to the wall.
Farmers said agriculture fields are waterlogged since the last one week and there is no hope to save the crops. While the vegetable crops have been flattened, the paddy crops are likely to be affected by grain discolouration. In such a situation, shortage of agriculture officers is delaying the assessment of crop loss in the district.
Official sources said of the 16 sanctioned assistant agriculture officer posts, eight are lying vacant in the district. Similarly, only 36 village-level agriculture officers are available for 198 panchayats.
Besides, Jagatsinghpur does not have a regular chief district agriculture officer (CDAO). The district agriculture officer of Jagatsinghpur is holding the additional charge of CDAO. The posts of district agriculture officer, Tirtol and block agriculture officer, Erasama are lying vacant for the last more than a year.
Farmer leader Debi Prasad Moharana said the shortage of agricultural officers has exacerbated the crisis. While discoloured and germinated paddy will not be accepted at procurement centres, the delay in crop loss survey has put the farmers in a fix.
Sources in the district agriculture office said an emergency meeting will be held on Thursday to assess crop damage in different areas of Jagatsinghpur. In-charge CDAO Biswajeet Panda was unavailable for comment on the matter.
Farm crisis
Of 16 sanctioned assistant agriculture officer posts, eight are lying vacant
36 village-level agriculture officers are available for 198 panchayats
Jagatsinghpur does not have a regular chief district agriculture officer
Agriculture officer posts in Tirtol, Erasama lying vacant for more than a year