Agri department exudes optimism on Kharif output

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the State is visited by two natural calamities - drought followed by two spell of floods - the Agriculture Department is confident of a good kharif harvest.The department has projected paddy production of 65 to 68 lakh tonnes during the current kharif marketing season as against a target of 73 lakh tonnes.The paddy production will be almost equal to the last year’s production of 69 lakh tonnes notwithstanding the drought and floods, claimed a senior officer of the department. The department has estimated a crop loss of less than 1 per cent due to drought while the loss due to the two spell of floods will be 4 to 5 per cent. If the total loss will be 5 per cent, the paddy production will easily touch the last year’s production, the sources said. According to field reports of the department, crop condition is excellent in Bargarh, Kalahandi and Sonepur. The three districts contributed about 40 per cent of the total paddy production of the State. Bargarh is considered to be the rice bowl of the State. The department is confident of a good harvest in the western Orissa districts despite deficient rainfall in some parts. Crop condition is equally good in Sambalpur and Nuapada districts. About 60 per cent of the paddy production comes from Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts. The Agriculture Commissioner from the Ministry of Agriculture recently visited Juanagarh, Dharmagarh and Jaipatna areas of Kalahanid district and was very much impressed with the paddy crops. He told the department officers accompanying him that the district was no less than Punjab. Ironically, the Government goes by the statistics of the Revenue Department which always gave a negative picture on the crop condition. The department predicted a huge crop loss in undivided Sambalpur district last year. Contrary to the assessment of the Revenue Department, Bargarh and Sambalpur had a record paddy production.