Soybean, tur crops wither in Buldhana's Amdapur as rain fails; crop-loss panchnamas begin
Revenue and agriculture officials began crop-loss surveys and panchnamas in the taluka on Wednesday after the failure of rain damaged kharif soybean and tur.
Farmers in Buldhana have been hit twice over. With the rain having held off, the kharif soybean and tur crops have suffered extensive damage. To get relief to the affected farmers, the revenue and agriculture departments began crop-loss surveys and panchnamas in the taluka on Wednesday.
The picture in the fields of Amdapur was grim. Soybean pods are hollow, tur growth has stopped and the crops are scorched.
To check whether panchnamas were really being carried out on the field bunds or only on paper, several fields in the Amdapur area were visited with officials of the revenue and agriculture departments. Those present included Ganesh Khodve, village revenue officer for Amdapur Part 1; Rahul Jadhav (Part 2); Bhushan Kale (Part 3); assistant agriculture officers Yogesh Sarode and Sushma Gai; gram panchayat officer Sharad Kale; the deputy sarpanch; and Prashant Pakhare, Ram Jadhav, Ganesh Malode, Ram Deshmukh, Bhagwat Sonune, Madhav Dhandale and Pratap Kause, among others. The kharif crop that was within reach has been ruined for want of rain, leaving farmers in financial distress. They hope the panchnamas will bring compensation.
Some farmers have irrigation facilities. They tried to save their crops, so in places the crop looks green from above. But the grains inside the soybean pods are small and weak. Farmers estimated that even such fields would yield at most three quintals of soybean per acre. Power is also supplied at low voltage at night and transformers burn out repeatedly, which disrupted irrigation as well. Farmers said that even with water available, production did not match expectations.
In Gat No. 1185 in Amdapur Part 3, farmer Sahebrao Gawai had sown soybean and tur on two hectares. The soybean crop has been completely scorched for want of rain. In the few plants still standing, the pods have not filled and only the husks remain. Gawai said the harvest would not even cover the cost of harvesting, so it was not worth reaping, and he had no option left but to plough the crop under.
In Gat No. 2011 in Part 2, farmer Sham Bansi Mankar had planted soybean and tur on 5 hectares 19 ares. Mankar's eyes welled up as he described the loss caused by the lack of rain. He made a pained plea: "Sir, please carry our plight to the government and get us compensation."
