JOIN USThe farmers could not reap the benefit of their toil as the ragi and groundnut crops which were ready for harvesting, have begun to sprout due to the rains.
The rains had hampered the harvesting and processing activities. Groundnut and ragi should have been harvested, processed and dried a week ago. The farmers are left in lurch, as the crops will be damaged even if they are harvested or left in the field itself.
“We had been waiting for the rain a fortnight ago. However, as it didn’t rain and we irrigated the field using irrigation pump sets and harvested the groundnut crop.
Unfortunately soon after the harvesting was over, it started raining, damaging the crops,” lamented R N Chandrashekhar. However, some of the farmers who have sown ragi in different phases, will not be affected, though the crop sown in July is likely to rot.
Though the Met Department has asked the farmers not to harvest the crop, the groundnut can’t be left in the field as they would start sprouting.
Surprisingly, the officials of the Agriculture Department at a review meeting in Zilla Panchayat on Wednesday, claimed that the rain didn’t affect the farmers in the region.
The officials told ZP Chief Executive Officer G V Rangarao that ‘the farmers didn’t suffer any loss and this is right time for them to sow horse gram.’