Drought effect: Anantapur farmers worry as groundnut crops dry up
- Groundnut farmers eagerly wait for rains
- CM promised rain guns which are yet to come
- Anantapur district is reeling under severe drought
FollowThe groundnut farmers of Anantapur are a worried lot as the district is reeling under severe drought. With no signs of the monsoons arriving in the district anytime soon, the farmers are looking at severe losses.
Anantapur is famous for its groundnut plantation, which is cultivated in almost 6 lakh acres of land. However, this year the farmers have not been able to take up sowing in only 1.3 lakh acres of land.
Farmers who have not planted the seed are waiting for the monsoon to plough the land and sow the seed. But according, to agricultural scientists the final date of sowing is July 31 and since the date is past, it is not possible to sow now. If this is the condition of farmers who have not sown, the condition of farmers, who have sown, is another sad story. They have sown groundnut in 60 thousand acres of land but the crop is drying without rains.
AP CM Chandrababu Naidu on Monday held a meeting at Velagapudi with the meteorological officials to review the situation. The officials told the CM that the monsoon would enter only in the second week of August.
In the 26 mandals, of Anantapur district, 4 thousand acres of crop is at the kernel stage. In June, the percentage of rain recorded is 59.2 mm but in July it is only 20 mm. The district in charge minister Devineni Uma and the Special Secretary of Agricultural Department Rajasekhar toured the district and promised rain guns to save the crop.
But the rain guns are yet to come and the farmers are eagerly waiting for the CM to fulfil his promise before it is too late.
