Rain boosts paddy, sugarcane cultivation

DHARMAPURI: Paddy and sugarcane farmers expect a bountiful  harvest, in the wake of abundant rainfall during the South West monsoon. Dharmapuri has so far received a total of  585 mm of rain which is more than usual.

Over the past decade, the area under paddy and sugarcane cultivation has reduced in the district because of water scarcity. Instead, farmers shifted to cultivating vegetables and millets. But this year, South West monsoon has provided 27 mm more rain. This concouraged many farmers to take up sugarcane and paddy cultivation, said officials in the Agriculture department.

M Selvaraj, a farmer from Nallamapalli said, “This year the South West monsoon has exceeded our farmers expectations and water will last till the North East monsoon. So farmers have shifted to the cultivation of paddy in many areas.”

Another farmer, K Chinnasamy from Palacode said, “In Palacode for the past several years the rains have been poor and even drinking water was a problem. It was only this year that the sugar mill here opened its doors after three years of closure. This has motivated farmers to pursue sugarcane cultivation. Now with the SW monsoon providing more rain, many farmers have already planted sugar cane and the rains will boost the yield.”