New Delhi, Friday, August 24. Around eight lakh hectare farmland has been left uncultivated due to scanty rainfall in south West Bengal districts. This can bring down to the production of Aman paddy in the state by over 20 lakh tonnes during the Kharif season.
Aman paddy was sown on 34.5 lakh hectares of land till 17th of August, much short of the 42.92 lakh hectare target. The state would yield around 86 lakh tonnes paddy from the quantity of the land cultivated so far. But with the showers are inadequate the production is likely to fall by 23 lakh tonnes.
Aman paddy is cultivated from June to December and grows best during monsoons in deep, semi-deep and low-lying land. Aman paddy constitutes around 70 per cent of the total rice production in Bengal.
The states received little more than 600 mm of rainfall till the 17th of August; this is 151 mm less than the normal rainfall. The total shortfall of rain has been estimated at 20 percent. The south West Bengal districts, which are the main producers of Aman paddy, are deficient by 29 percent.
Burdwan, considered the rice bowl of the state, received only 13.1 mm, rather than its normal 83.6 mm. There has been scanty rainfall (less than 60 percent of normal) in districts including Malda, South Dinajpur, Nadia, Burdwan, Hooghly, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Howrah North Dinajpur, and South Dinajpur.
