West Bengal has witnessed a peculiar local weather change impression this 12 months the place the granary belts of the state have witnessed a non-conventional rainfall sample.
First throughout June and July this 12 months, thought of the height seasons for sowing of Aus and Aman paddy, the granary belts, particularly in south Bengal, witnessed a large rainfall deficit. Then in late September and October it obtained exceptionally excessive autumnal rain.
These two vagaries of nature have impacted the paddy manufacturing within the state in a significant method leaving the farmers in misery.
As per data of the climate workplace in Kolkata, in June this 12 months, the rainfall deficit was 48 per cent in Gangetic West Bengal. In July this 12 months the rainfall deficit within the area got here down marginally however hovered round 46 per cent.
As per data this was the worst ever rainfall deficit in Gangetic West Bengal since 2010. Nevertheless, in keeping with the data, even in 2010 the rainfall deficit within the area was inside 40 per cent.
How has this huge rainfall deficit affected the cultivation of Aus and Aman paddy within the granary belts of the state? In response to agricultural specialists this rainfall deficit first affected the key sowing interval of Aus and Aman.
Aus number of paddy is sown in summer season with pre-monsoon rainfall and harvested in autumn. So the rainfall deficit in June affected the sowing because the seed beds didn’t obtain sufficient rain water required for a wholesome yield.
Within the case of Aman rice, the sowing season begins from center of July and continues until the center and at occasions finish of August. So, the rainfall deficit in July which hovered round 46 per cent additionally affected a significant a part of the Aman sowing interval.
Some statistics of the agriculture division present how the whims of nature affected paddy manufacturing within the state. Until the center of July, sowing of paddy seeds had been doable in solely 2.08 lakh hectares of farmland out of the goal of 52 lakh hectares.
Out of the two.08 lakh hectares of land, sowing of Aus paddy was doable on 1.1 lakh hectares, placing a query mark on the manufacturing of this specific number of paddy in the course of the present farming season. In the identical interval, Aman paddy could possibly be sown in 97,000 hectares.
The worst affected was East Burdwan district in South Bengal, which is taken into account West Bengal’s granary. Sowing for Aman paddy had been doable solely on 3,280 hectares on this district, whereas the determine for Aus paddy was simply 1,697 hectares until mid-July.
Nevertheless, within the case of Aman paddy the rainfall deficit was compensated to an extent by the rainfall in August. When the enough August rainfall was elevating the hopes of the farming group, got here the surplus autumnal rainfall in September and October. The surplus was measured at round 10 per cent.
Agricultural specialists and functionaries of the All India Kisan Sabha like Hannan Mollah and Samar Ghosh really feel that the double-blow — first within the type of rainfall deficit in June and July after which extra autumnal rainfall in September and October — made the farmers lose a significant a part of their yield.
In response to them, when the rainfall was wanted most throughout June and July for efficient sowing and replanting, the deficit acted as a dampener. Then in September and October, when the crops have been able to bear seeds, the harm was accomplished by the surplus autumnal rain.
In response to economics professor PK Mukhopadhyay, the impression of those vagaries of nature could possibly be felt in two methods. “The primary was an inevitable improve within the worth of rice within the open market, which has already hardened by 5 share factors. The second impression was on the livelihood of the sharecroppers, with a lot of them helpless in entrance of such whims of nature.”
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