M Raghuram/The Hindu

Mangalore, June 11: The farmers in Dakshina Kannada district could not take up any agricultural operations due to a delay in monsoons that should have set in by June first week. The Mangalore taluk Raitha Sangha president Sunny D'Souza said a couple of short spells of pre-monsoon showers were inadequate. The delay would result in delayed transplantation of saplings and the harvest, he said.

Mr. D'Souza said about 35,000 hectares was available for the kharif crops, over 23,000 hectares for rabi and about 11,000 hectares for suggi crops in Dakshina Kannada district. A progressive farmer in Buntwal taluk's Vamadapadavu village, K. Anand Shetty said notwithstanding the delay in monsoons, the farmers were ready for commencing the agricultural operations in the district.

Labour shortage

A major constraint faced by the farmers in the district is non-availability of labour especially for the initial preparation in nurseries and transplantation of young saplings in the fields which are highly labour-intensive stages. The young workers had diverted to "beedi" rolling and cashew processing while the elderly could not take up agricultural work, Mr. Shetty said.

One of the Krishi Pandits of 2005, Peter Miranda of Mantradi village of Puttur taluk said if the rains get further delayed, the cultivation in the upland fields would suffer as the water percolation would be faster. It would then pose another problem of young saplings drying up quickly and the farmers would have to pump water to their fields lying on hills which is cost intensive. Hence, delay in monsoons would have adverse impact on all factors including returns, he said.

Farm policy

As per the new agriculture policy of the state, the coverage of khariff area in the district would be increased by 4.5 per cent. Four taluks of Mangalore, Puttur, Buntwal and Belthangady in the district had moderate to high concentration of agricultural lands. In Sullia the agricultural land under kharif had dwindled to a meager 485 hectares as most farmers had shifted to horticultural and commercial crops such as areca nut and rubber, Mr. Peter said. The agriculture department had targeted about 35,000 hectares to be covered under kharif 2007 against 33,090 hectares in 2006 since the district received an average annual rainfall of over 4000 mm suits paddy cultivation. The district is expected to double its paddy production in the next ten years.