Maharashtra CM advises farmers to refrain from sowing for few days

In the backdrop of drought in the last three years and lack of adequate rains resulting in insufficient soil moisture, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday asked farmers to refrain from sowing Kharif crops for the next few days.

"Though many parts of the state have received rainfall, monsoon has not arrived as yet. The meteorological department has said that rainy season will start soon. But after the initial rains, farmers have got ready with their Kharif sowing expecting continuous good rains," Fadnavis said.

"I urge farmers to not sow Kharif crops till it rains sufficiently and continuously for at least two days so that the soil develops the moisture required for crops," he said in a release here.

He said that due to the hot weather, the seeds may get destroyed and farmers may have to resow seeds, which may result in financial losses for them, like it did last year.

Fadnavis said the government has made sufficient fertilisers and seeds available for the Kharif season and has also stayed the decision regarding seed price hike by Mahabeej to provide relief to lakhs of farmers.

"Out of 43.75 tonnes of demand for fertilisers, the government has till now made available 40.25 lakh tonnes. Apart from this, the Centre has reserved 0.50 lakh tonnes of Urea fertiliser for Maharashtra," he said, adding that as compared to 2015, the demand for fertilisers has shot up by 26%.

Fadnavis said that for the current Kharif season, the demand for seeds is 14.99 lakh quintal, while the government has made available seeds totalling 17.90 lakh quintal.