Farmers in trouble as rain destroys chilli crop

bellary: chilli farmers are facing harsh times. subbaiah, a farmer in sirwar village of bellary taluk, cultivated chillies on six acres of land; the rain has destroyed his entire crop. with loans to repay, his dream of collecting rs 2 lakh in returns are washed out. chinnuru seshaiah, another farmer, had sown chilli seeds on 26 acres. of these, he had leased 16 acres for which he has to pay rs 10,000 per acre after the harvest.heavy rain has left him in distress. nagamma, a farmer in kappagal village, cultivated chillies on 10 acres for the second successive year. though she lost her crop last year to a virus attack, she took a loan of rs 1.25 lakh and sowed the same crop, only to lose out again. luckily, she is dependent on maize too. chillies have been fetching good returns for the last couple of years, prompting farmers to take up cultivation in this region, particularly in bellary taluk. but they have only reaped regret, what with a prolonged drought followed by quick and heavy monsoon drowning the kharif crop. the chillies began to wither as the roots were submerged, affecting its respiratory system. besides, the plants were also attacked by the pythoptra disease, which attacks the roots. the fields are now full of moisture and weeds, and the farmers have to face the additional job of deweeding. already squeezed for funds, they say it will cost them rs 6,000 to prepare their fields for the next crop. the crop was sown on 30,000 acres in bellary and siruguppa firkas, and of this, 70 per cent has been damaged, said g. karunakar reddy, district bjp president. similarly, of the cotton crop cultivated on 5,000 acres, about 40 per cent was damaged due to a similar reason. the total loss due to the incessant rains has been estimated at rs 30 crore, which the district administration has failed to gauge, he added. though two ministers, two members of parliament and the kpcc president hail from this district, officials are lethargic and apathetic, he alleged. kurugodu assembly constituency, which has been hit the hardest, is represented by kpcc president allum veerabhadrappa. here, the posts of deputy director and assistant director of the horticulture department are vacant, depriving farmers of proper guidance. reddy said rain is not the only culprit. spurious seeds are doing the market rounds and some dealers have already been caught. cargill, the multinational company, supplied cargill-900 variety of jowar seeds which failed to germinate on over 50,000 acres. the company must be pressured into paying compensation to the farmers, reddy demanded.