DC visits farms hit by untimely rains

Deputy Commissioner Bagadi Gautam and a few other senior officers, on Monday, visited the farms badly hit due to untimely rains in Mudigere taluk.

The Hindu had carried a report on the damage caused to coffee and paddy fields on Monday. The news report had featured A.B. Krishne Gowda, a coffee grower of Attigere near Kottigere, who had suffered a huge loss. The officers visited his farm and interacted with Krishne Gowda.

Following the untimely rains last week, coffee beans had fallen on the ground in his farm. Against the expectation of 200 bags of beans in his five-acre farm, he could hardly get 50 bags. He had estimated the loss at ₹6 lakh. Besides him, many growers lost coffee beans spread on drying yards after the harvest. Similarly, paddy growers could not safeguard their yield due to the heavy rains.

The team of officers visited Bettagere, Phalguni, Tatkola, and Mugravalli villages in Mudigere taluk. They assured the farmers that the officers would conduct a survey on the loss suffered and submit a report to the State government. Mudigere tahsildar H.M. Ramesh and others accompanied the DC in the visit.

Early flowering

In some areas, the untimely rains have caused early flowering in coffee estates. Normally, flowering happens in March. “This time flowering has happened in January itself. This is the first time I am noticing this in my place”, said Srinivasa Murthy, a small grower at Mudagodu near Sringeri.

Early flowering affects the yield in the next harvest season, besides forcing the farmers to spend more money to keep the plants healthy. “Normally, the harvest is done between December and January. Because of the early flowering, beans will ripen by November. The yield would be less. The sudden rains have affected the cycle of coffee itself. We may have to wait for two-three years to return to the normal course”, he said.