India: Hit by high temps, growers demand orange policy for state
The demand came in the wake of an ongoing heatwave that has affected very badly the ambia bahar crop which bears fruit in October. The unusual heat in March last week has resulted in higher fruit dropping. Though fruit dropping is a natural phenomenon, the drop is minimal if the fruits have crossed berry like size. Thanks to extreme weather conditions, the extent of fruit drop is much higher and they dropped at just the peanut-sized stage. This is expected to result in 40-50% loss of yield. It was the hottest March in the past 13 years when the mercury touched 43.3 degrees Celsius.
"The water table has also gone down steeply. Generally, this range of temperature is seen in May end. Even now the temperature is over 45 C. I have not seen such low water table in last 25 years. It is high time the government developed an orange policy and implemented it too," said Manoj Jawanjal, director Maha Orange, an orange growers' association and an organic orange farmer.
Amol Totey, president of the Orange Growers Association of India and an orange farmer, is demanding an immediate assessment of the fruit drop and an orchard inspection by the agriculture department, so farmers could be compensated adequately. He is also demanding the farmers should be given a drip irrigation subsidy at the earliest possible date. "The subsidy for micro-irrigation has been pending since 2014. CM is from Vidarbha and yet we are struggling to get the subsidy. Farmers need new working capital and hence crop loans should be revised. Earlier, we had access to the Prime Minister directly through a website. This government has done away with that access," said Totey.
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