Good growth of cotton, soya brings cheer to farmers

After a gap of thee years, cotton and soya farmers are elated over good growth of the plants due to timely rains and they are expecting good yield this season unlike like last three seasons.

But, the cultivation area has come down when compared to expected area due to huge delay in monsoon. Rain fed crops got sufficient rainfall in Kharif but paddy suffered a lot.     

Farmers say that the timely rains saved their crops otherwise the situation would be worst, as they had lost three successive seasons due to drought conditions and incurred huge loss.

Cotton farmers were busy in operations of weeding and spraying chemicals to the plants. On the other hand, farmers did not get institutional financial support this season and not much benefit out of crop loan wavier by the state government.

At many places, bankers did not give crop loan to the tenant farmers as usual this season also despite having eligibility certificates issued to the tenant farmers by the state government.

Meanwhile, paddy cultivation has begun little late waiting for rains and gradually picked up the paddy operations across the district.

There was a lot of confusion in disbursement of fresh crop loans to the farmers by the bankers and no authority was ready to clear the doubts raised on crop loans and crop loan waiver and charging interest by the farmers. 

Various crops were cultivated only in 5.10 lakh hectors against the expected area 5.70 lakh hectares in the district in Kharif. Cotton was sown in 3.15 lakh hectares against 3.50 lalkh hectares and Soya in 93,000 hectares against 1.25 lakh hectare and paddy in 14,000 hectares against he expected 56,000 hectares while Redgram in 46,000 hectares where as the expected area was just 42,000 hectares in the district.

According to official sources out of total 52 mandals, 14 mandals were facing deficit rainfall , 19 mandals received excess rainfall and Jannaram, Madamarri and  Kasipet mandals were facing scanty rainfall. There was 20 percent deficit of rainfall as only 596.2 mm rain fall received against the 743.4 mm rainfall by this time in the district.      

Farmer J. Dashrath of Ichoda expressed happiness over growth the cotton plants due to timely rains unlike in the last three seasons and hoped that they would get good yield this time.