Monsoon plays truant in South

After a spectacular start, the South-West Monsoon has stalled, especially over Southern Karnataka and parts of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, triggering concerns among the farming communities in these regions, and also affecting inflows into major reservoirs.

However, thecountry as a whole has seen only a 1 per cent deficit so far, with North West India experiencing a 31 per cent surplus, and the Eastern States being affected by flooding.

Six Met subdivisions have reported a rainfall deficit, entering the second week of July, which is normally the rainiest in the four months. Two contiguous Met subdivisions each in the South Peninsula, Central India, and East India are now in shortfall by varying margins. Worryingly, the regions in the South — mainly South Interior Karnataka and Kerala — that have witnessed consecutive droughts in the past few years continue to experience deficit rains.

An erratic monsoon has affected the sowing of key field crops such as paddy, ragi, pulses and sugarcane, besides raising the spectre of quality issues in plantation crops such as coffee and pepper.

“The lack of rains is seen prolonging the drought in the southern districts. We are ready with the seeds but there is no rain or water in the reservoirs or canals,” said Boriah, a farmer leader in Mandya.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, which tracks rainfall at the gram panchayat level, the cumulative deficit across the State for the June 1 - July 11 period was 21 per cent, with South Karnataka witnessing a 44 per cent shortfall.

Sowing affected Water shortage has affected sugarcane planting in the region. As a result, acreages would be down by at least half, said Kurbur Shantakumar, President of the Karnataka Sugarcane Growers Association.

While kharif sowing has taken a hit, standing crops such as moong, maize and other pulses are facing water stress in Southern Karnataka.

“Sowing has been completed in about 34 per cent of the normal area, as against the norm of 51 per cent for the period,” said M Maheshwar Rao, Agriculture Secretary, Karnataka. “We are hoping for better rains from next week.”

Sluggish sowing has resulted in poor offtake of fertilisers and other inputs. “Fertiliser sales are down by at least 40-50 per cent over the corresponding last year,” said Shantakumar, who also leads Raitha Bandhu, a farmer producer organisation.

Irregular rainfall for the third straight year over the coffee regions of Kodagu and Chikamagalur has left growers worried. “The erratic rains could impact yields,” said Y Raghuramulu, Director, Central Coffee Research Institute. Besides, the risks of pest attacks such as white stem borer are high, he adds.

“The rainfall deficit of 30-40 per cent being witnessed in Wayanad is definitely a cause for concern. Besides affecting ground-water recharge, it will also affect pepper badly,” said N Dharmaraj, Chief Executive, Harrisons Malayalam.

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