New Delhi: According to official data, nearly 90 lakh farmers in Maharasthra have been adversely affected by the drought. It has devastated the kharif crop and will continue to distress its cultivators. The figure is two-thirds of the total of 1.37 crore farmers and is almost on a par with the population of Sweden.
The impact of the drought was seen mainly in Mararthvada and Vidarbha regions. The state which is known for its farm crisis and reports the maximum number of farmers' suicides became a victim of inadequate and delayed monsoon.
It comes close on the heels of the crop distress wreaked by the hailstorms last year which hit cultivators hard.
Two weeks ago, the state government officially declared that 60% of its villages were facing a "drought-like condition". This means that they reported a crop yield which was less than 50% of the standard yield in the area. In absolute figures, 23,811 of the state's 39,453 villages come in this category. This will result in a drastic fall in the state's agricultural output for the year, officials said.
"It is a very difficult situation. Farmers in the state are facing severe agrarian distress," said state relief and rehabilitation secretary K H Govinda Raj. The state government has released relief worth Rs 2,000 crore so far, he added. The state had asked the Central government for aid worth Rs 4,800 crore but that's yet to come in.
Vidarbha-based farmer activist Vijay Jawandia pointed out that this is the fourth drought in the state since 2008. "The impact on farmers is only getting worse. Earlier farmers used to suffer because of low yields but at least they got a decent price for their produce. Now they have poor yield and very low prices for their crop," he said.
In his estimation, the cotton and soyabean crop in the state could see a dramatic drop in yield. "The total cotton production in Maharashtra could drop by 1.5crore quintals this year. The soyabean yield was 4quintals per acre. This year it could be just half of that," he said.
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