Now Reading: Nilgiris hill farmers seek irrigation schemes as crops fail
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Nilgiris hill farmers seek irrigation schemes as crops fail
Deficit southwest monsoon rains have hit hill vegetable yields in the Nilgiris, with the secretary of the Nilgiris Potato and Vegetable Growers Association reporting a 30-40% drop in output over the past…
The Story in Brief
Deficit southwest monsoon rains have hit hill vegetable yields in the Nilgiris, with the secretary of the Nilgiris Potato and Vegetable Growers Association reporting a 30-40% drop in output over the past two months. Carrot and beetroot prices have risen to Rs 60-75 per kg at Mettupalayam auction centres, benefiting only farmers with advanced irrigation.
C.K.N. Babu, the association's secretary, appealed for special irrigation schemes tapping existing water sources, including permission to dig bore wells, to save vegetable crops. Fields relying on seasonal rainfall are suffering most, leaving ordinary farmers in dire straits.
The Indian Opinion
News reports often frame monsoon failure as a uniform disaster, but the real divide is between farmers with irrigation and those without. The call for bore wells is understandable, but unchecked extraction can worsen water scarcity in the fragile Nilgiris ecosystem. A better test: will the government push for drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting instead of just drilling deeper?
Source: deccanchronicle.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
