Udupi: Timely Monsoon Spurs Paddy Cultivation in Coastal District
Pics: Inchara Digitals
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (RD/CN)
Udupi, Jul 3: The timely arrival of the monsoon this year has brought hope to the farmers in the district. The torrential rains over the past couple of weeks gave a boost to farming activity.
Although, the agricultural activities picked up speed after the torrential rains, it has flooded the low-lying paddy fields making it impossible to sow seedlings.
A majority of farmers have begun to plough their fields to sow the seedlings while a few farmers have grown saplings for replanting in other fields.
The flooded fields in the plains which are already ploughed make it impossible to sow seedlings for fear that the water will wash away the seedlings before they develop roots in the soil.
The farmers who have stocks of saplings are waiting for the stagnant waters in the fields to recede in order to replant the saplings. The planting of saplings will pick up speed, if there are a few intervals between rains and bright sunshine prevails during the day.
However, the rain water has not remained in the fields located on the hills owing to which the farmers are not able to sow the seedlings.
The lack of rains in the hilly regions makes it difficult to sustain the paddy crop while in the plains excess rains cause flooding in fields across the coastal district.
At the same time, a few farmers with large farmlands also face an acute shortage of skilled agricultural labourers. Agricultural activities are going on amid shortage of labourers and incessant rains.
Both men and women migrant labourers from Bijapur are being engaged in agricultural activities as there is a shortage of local labourers. Thousands of migrant labourers from Bijapur and Bagalkot who have learned the skill of sowing seedlings and planting saplings, are in great demand during the season.
Furthermore, it is significant that if at all paddy cultivation has still retained its sheen it is only because of the toil of these migrant labourers in the coastal district.
A few farmers have depended on machinery to undertake paddy cultivation in the coastal district which faces an acute shortage of skilled farmhands. There are a few who have abandoned farming altogether and as a result, many acres of paddy fields lie barren. Others have sold their paddy fields that are located beside the NH 17 to some builders who have reclaimed them and built apartment complexes.