Despite rain, sowing below par in south-interior Karnataka

BENGALURU: A surge in monsoon has hastened farm operations in major parts of the state, barring south-interior areas where sowing has been below normal and trailing 2019 levels for this time of the year.
Rain has been above normal in most districts. But farmers in south-interior Karnataka - Kolar, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Bengaluru, Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga and Tumakuru - haven't completed s owing in even five per cent of the targeted area.Sources said the Covid gloom could have discouraged farmers from opting for early sowing since cases have gone up in these districts. Other reasons include uneven distribution of rain and lack of irrigation facilities.
An official from the agriculture department, however, disputed these claims: "Usually, sowing starts in these districts from July first week and goes on till mid-August. There is no need to worry about the pace.''
Met department officials said they aren't making changes in their prediction of normal monsoon and sowing targets. Until now, sowing for the kharif season has been a record of sorts in recent times with 35 per cent of the targeted area covered by June. As on June 29, sowing was done in 25.8 lakh hectares as against the targeted 73 lakh for the entire season. But actual sowing in June exceeded by almost 3 lakh hectares as against the targeted 23 lakh for the month.
According to agriculture department officials, last year, sowing was completed only in 10 lakh hectares by the end of June. "The progress of sowing (35 per cent of targeted area) has been really good so far and much above normal. We hope it will pic k up in the first half of July as all areas are receiving good rain," said Brijesh Kumar Dikshit, commissioner for agriculture.
Sowing has been good in north Karnataka with most districts registering 50-80% progress. Sowing has been completed in 83 per cent of the targeted area in Haveri; Dharwad (72%), Bidar and Belagavi (63% each).