BARGARH: Untimely rain coupled with hailstorm over the last 48 hours has damaged vegetable crops in vast tracts of agricultural land in the district leaving hundreds of farmers in the lurch.
In the last two days, Bargarh has received an average rainfall of 72.85 mm of rainfall. The worst-hit is Ambabhona block which received 105.6 mm and 51 mm rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The unseasonal showers have flooded fields and damaged vegetable crops that were ready for harvest.
Dolamani Saha, a farmer of Ambabhona, said apart from mustard, farmers mostly grow seasonal vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, tomato and brinjal. “They were hopeful of getting good prices for their produce but unfortunately, the untimely rainfall and hailstorm destroyed everything. At least 15 villages in the block have been badly affected due to the hailstorm,” he claimed.
Similarly, farmer leader Hara Bania said Sohela block has also received heavy rainfall. Vegetable farmers have suffered huge losses as the hailstorm damaged the crops. Farmers who had cultivated crops like potato and ginger have also suffered losses as the fields were inundated due to the rains.
This year, vegetables were cultivated over 18,000 hectares (ha) of land in the district including around 2,000 ha in Ambabhona. Block development officer (BDO) of Ambabhona Sitaram Bhoi said the crop loss assessment has already started but since rainwater is yet to recede from the fields, the exercise is moving at a slow pace.
“On Wednesday, crops over around 105 ha were damaged due to the rains. We will get a clear picture in the next two to three days,” the BDO added.
Sources said paddy farmers who harvested their crops have also suffered losses due to the rain. Over 1.3 lakh paddy bags kept in the open in absence of storage facilities have got wet.