A scorching summer awaits Vidarbha farmers after a failed monsoon wrecked both the kharif and rabi crops. Following two years of good yields and the centre-state loan waiver sops in 2008-09 fiscal year, officially over 80% of the region is reeling under a severe scarcity, the worst in the decade.
Of the 36,338 villages, 20,240 are scarcity-hit. The figures were released recently by the state government showing that both the monsoon and winter crops are estimated below 50% of the annual average.
According to revenue estimates, around 14,059 villages are in Vidarbha. Yavatmal — with 2,050 villages in the list — is among the worst-hit, followed by Amravati, with 1,981 villages.
“The monsoon failed and the rain was highly erratic,” said Yavatmal’s collector Sanjay Deshmukh. A depleted water table, dry water storage tanks and dams across the district, and a scarcity of fodder are of concern today, he said. A daunting summer, he admitted, lies ahead.
Deputy divisional commissioner (Amravati) Arun Dongre said that Yavatmal district, rural Akola, and parts of Washim and Amravati are already facing a severe drinking water problem. In Digras and Darwha - the hometown of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre — drinking water is being supplied once in a fortnight. The situation, authorities said, will only worsen.
With the shortfall having a bearing on the agriculture growth rate, the cabinet is to discuss the mitigation measures in its meeting recently. But special measures would also include the reconstruction of agriculture loan, waiver of farm cess and relaxation of Employment Guarantee Scheme norms.
Meanwhile, according to the market reports, the procurement prices of toor, cotton and other crops have fallen. This means that the farmers will suffer a double blow when they sell the remaining produce in open markets.
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