New Delhi, “The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer”
Each year farmers spend lakhs on sowing their crop, hoping it will pour but the wait for the arrival of the rains makes them lose out on huge finances. To add to the problem, the wide gap between the scale of finance and the actual cultivation cost poses hardships for the farmers. Besides this, harvesters have a lurking fear of rain or no rain or heavy rain which too can spoil the harvest.
But times are good as oodles of rain this month marked the reason for the happiness and enthusiasm of the paddy growing farmers in Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu. The north east monsoon rain was recorded at 221mm in only a week between 15-21 October. Experts have already started predicting better yield this agricultural season seeing this crucial plenty rain. Joyous feelings are echoing in parts of Mannargudi and Perugavazhndan, where private owners too are expecting a good yield.
Farmers of Tiruvarur were in tears seeing no rain conditions in the delta after the 23rd of September but still took a major risk by sowing the paddy, hoping it would pour. This step proved to be fruitful for them as their crop got its share of rain with the regular onset of north east monsoon in the area. Farmers say, now the ideal situation for them would be more spells of rain in the coming weeks.
A deep depression in the south west Bay of Bengal that can intensify into a cyclone, with heavy winds at a speed of 80 to 90 Kmph from the east and north, can bring widespread moderate to heavy rainfall in coastal Tamil Nadu in the next 24 hours. Though this would not lead to any substantial damage to the crops, it could lead to water stagnation in the fields. Experts say this excess water should be drained out after this possible storm is over or the heavy winds will uproot the plantation. Moreover they suggest stopping the transplantation of paddy till this storm doesn’t pass.
Thus, it becomes extremely essential for the farmers to be updated about the latest weather developments in their city and get important insights before, during and after the plantation time.
