Bhubaneswar, Aug 1 (IANS) Deficient rainfall during the past two months has hit kharif paddy sowing in Orissa, the state’s agriculture department Director R. Santhagopalan said Monday.
The cumulative rainfall during the months of June-July was about 26 percent less than the normal, he told IANS.
‘If the state does not receive adequate rains during the next 10 days, the conditions would become difficult,’ he said.
Last year the state produced 6.9 million tonnes of rice despite a drought and untimely rains that destroyed paddy crop worth millions of rupees.
He said this year the rainfall was severely deficient in six of the 30 districts. At least 10 other districts received 20 percent less rain than normal during June-July.
Orissa is one of the major rice growing states. At least 60 percent of its crop area is rain-fed.
