Farmers worried by lull in rainfall; sowing takes a hit

Belagavi: The uneven spread of rainfall has affected sowing activities in almost half the district. According to sources in the agriculture department, of the 10 taluks in Belagavi, five have received normal rainfall while the rest got less than normal.
The rain which was supposed to start in June got delayed by a month.
Rainfall in the first and second weeks of July blossomed hope among farmers and they started to prepare for sowing. However, the sudden disappearance of rainfall from the third week created panic in the agrarian community.
Sources say Athani, Bailhongal, Belagavi, Ramdurg and Raibag taluks got less-than-normal rainfall from June 1 to July 18 while there was good rain in Chikkodi, Gokak, Hukkeri, Khanapur and Raibag taluks.
The average rainfall in the district between June 1 and 17 is 273mm and it has recived 287mm. However, the rainfall is not evenly distributed.
Low inflow
Due to inadequate rainfall, water levels at lakes and reservoirs in the district are not as much they were in the same time last year. The inflow to Ghataprabha and Malaprabha rivers has also considerably slowed down.
According to Jilani Mokashi, joint director of the agriculture department, there is inadequate rainfall in many taluks.
Sources said the agriculture department had set a target of sowing in 7,18,351 hectares during kharif and sowing has been done only in 4,72,622 hectares.
Sowing activities have been discouraged due to lowered rainfall since the past one month, they said.