Soybean productivity down 87% in Solapur; fodder will last only 47 days

Solapur: The district received only 244.7 mm of rain between June and September against an average of 481.1 mm (50.9%), and 99 of its 110 revenue circles saw long dry spells, collector S. Karthikeyan told the central drought team at a meeting. Crop-cutting experiments show productivity down 87.4% for soybean, 69.3% for moong, 64.3% for urad, 52.2% for bajra and 31.2% for maize. At the meeting, which went on late into Friday night, the team ordered that crop surveys be completed quickly and accurately.

Groundwater in the district is 2.98 m below its five-year average. Ujani holds 85.17% of its capacity, but the 56 minor projects have only 4.14% and the seven medium projects 21.52%. Tankers, 108 of them, are supplying 116 villages. Fodder for the district's roughly 18.18 lakh livestock will last only 47 days on average; ₹5 crore has been set aside for fodder seed, with a target of 2.14 lakh tonnes of fodder. Farmers said milch animals worth ₹1.5 lakh were being sold for ₹25,000 to ₹30,000.

To stop migration, rural employment works have been speeded up, with 12,718 labourers now at work on 3,273 projects in 453 villages. Silt will be removed from 100 lakes, ten in each taluka, with CSR funds.

On Saturday, October 10, the team inspected Andhalgaon, Lendve Chincholi and Gonewadi in Mangalwedha taluka and Waki Gherdi in Sangola taluka. Its report is expected within seven days, much faster than the month such assessments usually take under the NDRF framework, said state agriculture commissioner Suraj Mandhare.

Sources: Loksatta; The New Indian Express