Bolangir: Farmers in this district are a worried lot as their standing paddy crop on thousands of acres is facing a threat from brown plant hoppers, a pest locally known as ‘Chakada’.
After drought like situation brought huge loss to the farmers, pest attack on paddy crop has come as a double whammy for them.
Earlier, many affected farmers had approached the authorities concerned in the agriculture department, but their request for the supply of subsidised pesticides has not been addressed. This has led to resentment among the farmers.
While the farmers are apprehensive about crop damage, the agriculture department has failed to tackle the pest menace. A team of officials from the district agriculture department had paid a visit to the farmlands affected by the pest attack and confirmed that the crop has been damaged.
However, due to shortage of subsidised pesticide provided by the government, farmers were forced to buy it from the local market. A farmer said the pesticide he purchased from the market was not effective; on the other hand, the pest attack increased, he added.
The worst affected blocks in the district are Sadar and Saintala. The villages affected by the pest attack in Saintala block are: Ghunsar, Bhadra, Dunguripali, Karamtala, Belgain, Kansar and Ambapali while the affected villages in Sadar block are Sahjbahal and Kudasingha among others.
“I had expected a good yield this year. But, the brown plant hoppers have invaded my field and damaged my crop,” a farmer said, adding that he was now left with a loan burden.
Assistant agriculture officer Pramod Kumar Badapanda, who visited a few pest-affected paddy fields, said brown plant hoppers had started damaging the paddy crops.
“The pests are undoubtedly brown plant hoppers. There was a shortage of the government pesticide but now the stock has arrived and the farmers can get it from us,” Badapanda said.
Pesticide ineffective
Bahanaga: Farmers in Bahanaga block of Balasore district are spending sleepless nights as a disease has hit crops in hundreds of acres. They are unable to curb the spread of the disease even though they have been using copper oxychloride to check the pests that leave paddy plant leaves scorched.
Farmers said due to good rains plants have grown luxuriantly, but the pest attack has spoilt their hopes of a bumper harvest this year. They have desperately been running from block agriculture office (BAO) to their farmland, seeking advice from experts to save their crops, but to no avail.
BAO officials explained that after rains suddenly stopped atmospheric temperature has gone up, causing the paddy leaves to wilt. The affected farmers lamented that they have invested a lot of money borrowed from cooperative banks and private moneylenders in raising the crops. But, now, how can they pay back the loans in case of crop failure is the farmers’ predicament.
The disease is spreading alarmingly in the area, but the agriculture department has allegedly taken few steps towards containing the problem.
“All plants have started scorching. The medicine that the agriculture department is prescribing is not effective against the disease,” said Bijay Patra, a farmer of Fatehpur.
Purnachanadra Jena of Karnajabindha, Lambodar Panda of Apitira and Bhaskar Hota of Maharudrapur have been facing the same problem, but are unable to curb it.
Assistant block agriculture officer Rangnath Patra said the government has been providing copper Oxychloride to farmers with 80 per cent subsidy. “This problem is not only confined to the block, but has spread to various parts of the district,” he admitted.
PNN
