After losing out to cotton in the kharif season, paddy continues to face rough weather in the late rabi season too.
Reduced Acreage
With major and minor reservoirs reporting very low water levels, farmers have reduced the acreage by a third. From the average 15 lakh hectares for the rabi season, the total rabi acreage of paddy fell down to just under 10 lakh hectares. As against the normal paddy area of 41 lakh ha (kharif and rabi), the Government targeted to add six lakh hectares more in 2012-13.
Production
As against the average production of 129 lakh tonnes, Andhra Pradesh projected an output of 154 lakh tonnes.
Most of the rabi output goes to the mandatory FCI (Food Corporation of India) levy, with remaining 25 per cent goes for sales within the State and exports to neighbouring areas. Foreseeing a bleak irrigation picture, the Government officials had issued advisories, asking the farmers not to go for paddy.
“The paddy area came down as there was no water for crops under the Nagarjunasagar ayacut. This reservoir generally takes care of irrigation to 20 lakh acres. The situation is no different in areas irrigated by KC Canal and Sriramsagar projects. Those with good groundwater went ahead and sowed paddy,” Yerneni Nagendra Nath, President of AP Farmers’ Federation, told Business Line .
The woes of paddy farmers further aggravated as the crop in 50,000 hectares was damaged in unseasonal rains and hailstorms in February.
In the crucial kharif, the paddy area came down to 20 lakh ha from the average area of 26 lakh ha, yielding the top slot for the first time to cotton. Farmers grew cotton in a record 22 lakh ha, far exceeding the average of 15 lakh ha.
The drop in the kharif area has already resulted in the sharp increase in the rice price in the open market.
The lower output, however, didn’t immediate result in higher price for farmers.
“It is only those who grew BPT (sona masuri) got a better price. And only 25 per cent of all paddy is this most preferred variety,” he said.
Nagendranath, however, doesn’t see any threat to availability of rice as the production of the commodity is far higher nationally.