Zonal Agricultural Officers Visit for Inspection

Officers from the ZAO had planned to inspect damaged crops and fields on the 1st of December, after coordinating time and date with the Village Talathi (Mr. Kedar Bhandari).

During the inspection farmers are expected to be present so that the officers can be taken to the fields in question. The Talathi put up a notice on the Village Panchayat bulletin board announcing the date and time. The Farmers Club informed the relevant members about the date.

Talathi's announcement on the Village Panchayat bulletin board and a gathering of farmers awaiting the Zonal Agricultural Officers at the appointed date and time for the inspection to commence

Besides the 22 farmers that submitted applications through the Farmers Club, the Mamlatdar bunched another 35 applications that were received individually, for inspection as well. All these applications were forwarded to the ZAO.

With a total of 57 applicants to deal with, a route was planned that made visiting the fields easy.

Collectively, a logical route is decided upon and everyone sets out for the inspection (by car, motorbikes, bicycles on foot....)

Each individual farmer was asked a few key questions (amount and variety of seed planted). Plots close to the roads were visually inspected, those with no accessible road were not. Yet, each applicant’s complaint was dealt with.

Next Steps
The ZAO will now compile a technical report with recommendations that will be sent off to the Mamlatdar. The Mamlatdar will eventually make the decision and the funds will be disbursed through him.

Stay tuned for progress on the matter.

Cyclone Phyan ruins paddy crop!

Cyclone Phyan that struck the western coast of India caught several farmers unawares. November is no time to be expecting thunder storms! But the rains came and stayed for several days after that.

Harvested paddy that awaited threshing got innundated

Harvested paddy that was lying in the field awaiting threshing got caught in the downpour. Low-lying khazan areas were inundated for several hours and this led to rotting of the harvest

Inspecting losses and salvaging what can be salvaged

In some cases it was possible to salvage a part of the crop and let it dry

Sitting in water for several hours, the paddy has resprouted!

In many cases, the dampness and the heat resulted in the paddy sprouting seedlings again! This is of no use to the farmers. It can certainly not be eaten and replanting these is not possible for most, as there is a shortage of water in the later months when water is needed for the rice.