Farmers should shift to less water-intensive crops amid rainfall deficit: Jangaon Collector

Jangaon: District Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha has advised farmers to focus on cultivating alternative crops, keeping the impact of El Nino in mind and to employ modern agricultural technology to reduce cultivation costs as well as to achieve higher yields.

He addressed a gathering of farmers and inspected stalls at the district-level Kisan Mela organised by the Agriculture Department, with support from the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) at the district headquarters.

Jha noted that he himself comes from a farming family and possesses a good understanding of the agricultural sector and explained that, due to the impact of El Nino, rainfall has decreased significantly.

While the district typically receives around 800 millimetres of rainfall by this time of the year, only 525 millimetres have been recorded so far, a deficit of nearly 40 percent. The reduction in rainfall and rising temperatures could impact agriculture in the coming days; hence, farmers should take proactive precautionary measures.

Rather than relying solely on paddy cultivation, farmers should consider growing crops that require less water, such as tur dal, green gram, black gram, groundnuts, oilseeds, vegetables, and horticultural crops, as well as exploring oil palm cultivation, the Collector stated.

Farmers could develop multiple sources of income by engaging in allied sectors such as dairy farming, livestock rearing, sheep farming, fisheries and poultry. Mushroom cultivation could be carried out in a limited space, with harvest possible in about 30 to 40 days.

Jha informed farmers that horticultural crops, vegetables, pigeon peas (red gram), and other crops were being cultivated on about two acres within the district collectorate premises.