Rain affected 17.11 lakh farmers in Nashik division: Survey

NASHIK: The unseasonal rainfall in October has destroyed standing crops across 17.03 lakh hectare in the Nashik division — comprising Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandubar districts — and has affected about 17.11 lakh farmers, reveals the crop damage survey (panchnama) conducted by the revenue and agricultural departments.
The rain wreaked such havoc that standing crops, including the crops ready for harvest, suffered damage in the range of 33-100%.
Jalgaon district bore the maximum brunt as crops across 6.51 lakh hectare were damaged, affecting around 5.96 lakh farmers.
“Almost 99% of the panchnama has been completed. Various officers had been roped in to complete the survey as soon as possible. As of now, we have found that around 17.11 lakh farmers have been affected. The reports will be sent to the state government soon,” Rajaram Mane, the divisional commissioner of the Nashik division, told TOI.
After Jalgaon, the rain caused most damage in the Nashik district. Around 3.71 lakh farmers lost crops across 4.34 lakh hectare. Nashik district is followed by Dhule, where crops across 3.70 lakh hectare was affected. “The number of affected farmers in Dhule is 2.76 lakh — comparitively fewer than in Nashik,” said Mane.
In Ahmednagar district, crops spread across 3.05 lakh hectare were damaged, affecting 3.92 lakh farmers.
Paddy, cotton, jowar, moong, soyabean, sugar cane, grapes, onions, tomato, green vegetables, maize, tur, banana, pomegranates were among some of the affected crops. The crop damage was reportedly extreme in Jamner, Chalisgaon, Chopada, Pachora and Parola talukas.
The state government had instructed the officers to complete the survey before November 8.
“After the crop damage, farmers have to clear the residue from their farms so that they can start the work for the rabi season. If the panchnamas are completed on time, farmers can look forward to the next season. The more time it takes to complete the panchnamas, the longer the farmers have to wait to start the rabi season agricultural work. Therefore, the panchnama works were carried out on a war footing,” said a senior officer from the revenue division.