Unseasonal rain triggered by deep depression since the past 48 hours has dealt a blow to farmers, mostly in coastal and southern parts of Odisha as steady downpour has damaged the harvest-ready paddy crops.

The unseasonal rain has affected the harvest. Apprehension of ready-for-harvest standing crops withering away looms large. With croplands lying inundated, harvesting work by harvester machine is not possible unless the water recedes in the crop fields.

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Prior to the rain forecast, farmers raced against time to save their produce by crop cutting. But shortage of skilled manpower hindered speedy harvesting work. Even when rain water drains off from fields, the harvester machines will turn ineffective to venture into the muddy crop fields. The machines which could hasten the reaping and harvesting process are bound to get stuck in crop areas which are mud-spattered due to recent unseasonal rain, said a cross section of farmers in Khordha district.

Though the Government had advised the farmers to shift the harvested paddy to safe places and properly stack under adequate cover to avoid any loss due to rain, the harvesting process still remained incomplete in the majority of coastal and southern districts. With this the standing crops which were ready for harvest bore the brunt of unseasonal rain.

Reports reaching in from several parts pointed out towards rain-induced crop loss as farmers had left the freshly cut crops out in their fields before threshing them. In some parts of the State, the paddy crop was not in the harvesting stage. Harvesting will take place next week. The farmers are worried a lot as there is every possibility that the ripe paddy getting soaked due to rain will deteriorate qualitatively during the harvesting.

Our produce was ready for harvest. We stepped up the process of harvesting paddy on a war footing once IMD issued a weather warning. We managed to cut two/third of the ripe crop and shift it to the covered area while the remaining crop was exposed to rain. We hope the crop loss will be minimal due to the rain effect, said a farmer, Keshab Rout, from Anandpur in Keonjhar district.

Another farmer from coastal Kendrapara district spoke on a different note saying that the crop was not harvest-ready and was exposed to the debilitating effect of rain . “I had planned to cut the crop in a week after the crop was matured for harvesting, Thus, I have little option left but to wait for the rain-filled field getting dried up for harvesting, The effect of rain will definitely hit the annual khariff yield”, said Parikhit Samal, a farmer from Gandakia village in Kendrapara district.

Meanwhile the State Government on Saturday announced that it will assess the crop damage and compensate the loss of farmers.

“The State Government will take up the issue of crop loss, if it is assessed by the district authorities. Besides, the paddy stacked up at the ‘mandis’ or paddy procurement centres are covered to avert damage to the produce”, said the Co-operation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta.