The sudden burst of rain across Uttar Pradesh may have brought respite from the humid weather, but for the farmers across the state this has been a double blow. The state’s rice belt, comprising Eastern and Central UP, was suffering due to drought and the sowing of the rice crop had already been delayed. With the heavy rain, the early rice crop, barely a fortnight away from ripening, will suffer major damage across the state.

According to the agri-meteorology experts, the early rice crop, spread across 17 lakh hectares in UP, will suffer a big blow due to the rainfall. In the last two days more than 50 districts of the state have witnessed medium (above 30 mm) and heavy (above 200 mm) rainfall, with Shahjehanpur in central UP getting maximum rainfall of 240 mm on Tuesday. With eastern UP expecting more rainfall, things may take a turn for the worse.

The Head of Department, Agricultural Meteorology Department, Acharya Narendra Dev Agricultural University (Faizabad) Dr Padmakar Tripathi said, “Already the rainfall was quite poor in the state with drought like conditions at the time of the early sowing, which resulted in only 60 per cent sowing. Some farmers had managed to sow the early crop with their own arrangements and the rice crop had attained the required maturity. In just fifteen days, the crop would have been completely ripe and ready for a harvest. But these rains have damaged the crop a lot. And if the rains continue, the early rice crop will be completely damaged.”

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