Rains trigger agriculture activities in Ganjam

Rains triggered by south-west monsoons have kick-started agriculture activities in Ganjam district of Odisha.
The rain not only provided relief from the sweltering heat but also helped levelling of the ground for paddy crop, said Rabindra Panda, a farmer of a village near Chhatrapur.
"The shower will pave the way for early sowing and facilitate agriculture activities," said Deputy Director of Agriculture (Ganjam) Sudarshan Mohanty said today.
The farmer's organisations fear that the agriculture operations may be hit due to shortage of seeds and fertilisers in the district. "In most of the areas, the farmers are not getting adequate seeds," claimed Simanchal Nahak of Rushikulya Raita Mahasabha, a farmer's outfit.

Mohanty refuted the allegation saying around 45,000 quintal seeds of 14 different varities of paddy have been provided to farmers through 326 selling points.
"There is no dearth of seeds in the district. For the first time, the agriculture department has introduced Swarna Sub-I and Sahabhagi, flood and drought resistant paddy seeds respectively in the district," he said.

The district plans to cultivate paddy over 2.22 lakh hectare at a rate of 43 quintal a hectare, during this kharif. In the previous kharif, paddy was sown over 2.24 lakh hectrare, official sources said.
"The district administration will take stringent action agaisnt retailers and wholesalers, selling fertilizers on the black market," the DDA said.

Since the companies are hardly giving any money for transportation, the dealers are compelled to sell the fertilizers at a higher price, said a dealer. "We have asked them to mention the price and the transport charge on the fertiliser bags," Mohanty said.