Off-Season Rains batters crop quality & productivity

57-year-old Srinivasa Rao, a farmer in Mangamoor village in Prakasam district, was caught unawares as a fresh wet spell overnight left his tobacco farm water-logged at a time when processing of plucked leaves was going on on a brisk note.

"We were hoping to get a good grade out-turn at least this year. But the rain has come at a most inopportune time. We are saddled with 30 to 35% of low grade varieties," said the farmer along with fellow farmers in the village.

The e-auctions of the main commercial crop are set to commence in the traditional tobacco growing areas coming under Southern Light Soil (SLS) and Southern Black Soil (SBS) auction platforms in three phases from February 17, 26 and March 4.

The farmers who have been reeling under the impact of severe drought in the last five consecutive years, were hoping to recoup the losses at least this year thanks to good precipitation during both khariff and rabi cropping seasons. But the unabated rain even at the time of harvest has hit hard productivity and the quality of crops including tobacco and Bengal gram, the main commercial crops grown under rain-fed condition in the district.

As a result, tobacco production, which was earlier estimated to cross the 100 million kg mark, is likely to hover around the 90 million kg mark in SLS and SBS regions, according to Indian Tobacco Association sources. It was estimated that bright grade varieties will account for only 40 to 45% of the total crop and medium grade varieties 25 to 30% of the total crop.