Marathwada & Vidarbha farmers consider resowing kharif crops amid erratic monsoon rain

Time of India

2 days ago

Pune: Farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha's rain-fed agricultural areas are facing a dire situation, with erratic monsoon rain forcing them to consider resowing kharif crops just weeks after initial planting.
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With over 50% of the state's districts experiencing significant rainfall deficits during the crucial June sowing period, farmers fear financial losses because of potential crop failure.
Achyut Patil, a farmer from Vyala village in Akola, told TOI: "Several districts in Vidarbha may witness large-scale resowing. At least 75% of the farmers in my village are facing this situation. I completed kharif sowing around June 12, based on the forecasts that the monsoon would intensify across Maharashtra.
The farmers expected good rainfall to continue in Vidarbha during June, after receiving good rainfall in May.
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But, the rainfall activity abruptly ceased after the farmers completed kharif sowing. "Though the rainfall activity has resumed recently, the seeds planted earlier have been damaged because of prolonged dry conditions and absence of supplementary irrigation. I face the prospect of resowing cotton, soybean, tur, urad and moong," Patil said.
He said resowing inflicted significant financial losses on farmers. "We need around 25kg seed bags for each crop variety, with each costing Rs 3,000-3,500, depending on the crop. Since we've already bought and planted these seeds, the entire investment is now worthless. We also spent on tractor fuel and labour for the initial sowing. Now, we have to repurchase seeds and bear the complete loss of our first investment, which is a double expenditure.
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Yavatmal farmer Anmol Raut said, "Numerous farmers in Digras tehsil, including in my village and on my farm, face resowing requirements. I sowed on June 13 after village elders confirmed monsoon's arrival, but rainfall stopped and only recently resumed, damaging the seeds completely."
Raut said his per-acre financial loss stood at Rs 12,000. "And I had sown nearly 10 acres. Most farmers face similar circumstances.
Some tried supplementary irrigation, but the limited water supply proved insufficient because of high temperatures. Although May saw good rainfall, the brief downpours led to runoff rather than groundwater recharge, creating water shortage for irrigation," he said.
Deepak Patil, in-charge of the Agriculture Research Station at Badnapur in Jalna district, said: "When sowing is completed and followed by a rainfall gap, it severely affects pulse germination.
In light to medium soils, those with lower clay content and reduced water retention capacity, germination rates decline significantly. Heavy soils with higher clay content retain moisture better, resulting in improved germination rates.
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He said any resowing undertaken after July 7 would adversely impact yields. "But, if farmers conduct resowing operations now, particularly for pulses, the yield impact may remain minimal.
Unfortunately, even now, Jalna district isn't receiving adequate rainfall for resowing operations. Successful sowing requires substantially higher rainfall both before and after planting than what we're currently experiencing," Patil said.
Keshav Dhore, another farmer from Akola, said he planned to begin the resowing exercise after 3-4 days. "This has caused significant financial losses as we've had to repurchase seeds.
Our earlier crop plantings of soybean and tur were completely destroyed due to the prolonged dry spell in Vidarbha that followed our initial sowing operations."
According to IMD, 19 out of 36 districts in the state are grappling with rainfall deficits ranging from moderate to large during the crucial early monsoon period from June 1-25, with nearly 53% of the state's districts, largely in Vidarbha and to an extent in Marathwada, recording below-normal rainfall so far during the official monsoon season that commenced on June 1.