VIJAYAWADA: The rains lashing different parts of the Rayalaseema region and parts of Krishna Delta and Prakasam district has not brought any cheers to the farmers. “The rains have come too late. Kharif is lost and only hope is Rabi,” they say.
K Rama Sekhar, a farmer in Rayachoti of Kadapa district who cultivated groundnut crop in his three-and-a-half acres of land, said the rains for past two weeks have completely damaged the crops. “They are not even useful as fodder for cattle. Now, only hope is the Rabi as groundwater level has improved,” he said.
The situation is no different in neighbouring Anantapur district, where an estimated 18,000 hectares of groundnut and other crops were reported to be damaged. Farmers claim that enumeration was carried out only in a few parts of the district and that the crop damage could be high. “Kharif is lost, there is no doubt about it. Even the crops cultivated under borewells were lost. Only silver lining is that groundwater has improved. All hopes are on Rabi,” farmer leader K Jagannatham said.
Copious inflows and heavy rainfall for past two weeks have failed to lift the spirits of the farmers in Kurnool under ayacut of KC Canal and Low-Level Canal of Tungabhadra. The farmers were denied water for Kharif and what is being released now is not useful for farming and in most places, the standing crops are inundated in rainwater.
Now, farmers of aycut are posing one question — Will the water be released for Rabi?
“Generally the government will not release water for Rabi crop in Kurnool. Now that there is sufficient water, will they release water to Rabi season?” asked K Jagannatham, AP Rythu Sangham leader.
The same question is being posed by farmers of Guntur and Prakasam districts also. “The rains have come very late, damaging Kharif crops. Black Gram and Green gram are completely washed out. Cotton, which was extensively cultivated, will suffer damage in quality,” said G Kotaiah of Ambapuram in Gurazala Mandal of Guntur district.
Kallam Venkata Reddy, a farmer from Rompicherla mandal in Guntur, who cultivated cotton, said he may not get the investment made on his crop. “Rains have dashed my hopes,” he lamented. Like several cotton farmers, he is in a dilemma — whether to remove cotton and go for paddy now that there is hope for water from Nagarjunasagar, where water levels are increasing significantly, or to continue with cotton and suffer some losses as the government is yet to take a call on release of water for Rabi.
On the other hand, J Brahmaiah, a farmer from Ulavapadu in Prakasam district, has lost hope for Kharif as there were not enough rains in their area. “The rains improved groundwater and it will help in Rabi,” he said. Now, all his hopes are on Rabi. Officials expect that the extent of land to be brought under cultivation during Rabi will be more than previous years.
Farmers in Krishna delta, who have got water from Pattiseema and benefited from rains since September, are now worried as the threat of cyclone looms large. “They pray, they are spared,” Y Nagendranath, farmer leader said.
Pointing out to the increased water levels in Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar, he said it is high time the government decided on the release of water from these projects, so the farmers can go for an early rabbi to recoup the losses they suffered during Kharif.