Climate change makes farmers’ future uncertain

A few years back, Hanumantappa cut down the 12-year-old arecanut trees at his farm in Kenchammanahalli in Davangere due to the droughts.

“Now, I have lost the vegetables to the rains,” he says.

This year, rains lashing Central Karnataka and Malnad region comprising Chitradurga, Davangere and Shivamogga districts have caused havoc.

Chitradurga is the worst-affected, where agricultural and horticultural crops (Ragi, groundnut, bengal gram and maize) grown on 93,376 hectares of land have reportedly been lost; 12,730 hectares of land were lost in Davangere.

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Hanumantappa said he has lost tomato, onions grown on three acres of land to the rains, but with the groundwater levels up, he is tempted to take up areca plantations again.

“But I might suffer again if there is no good spell of rain,” he says.

Kiran Kumar, the Joint Director of the Shivamogga District Agriculture Department, told DH that while the rains are ostensibly caused due to climate change, farmers cannot change their cropping pattern overnight.

“They might postpone sowing of seeds or planting saplings for about some days but not for months,” he says. The district has lost about 6,000 hectares of crops this year.

Rainwater harvesting expert Devaraja Reddy asked farmers to go for an integrated farming method with maximum diversification to meet the challenges in the agriculture sector.

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