Flood drowns Bengal?s dream of higher rice output this year

The recent flood in West Bengal?s six districts has drowned the state?s dream of 1 lakh tonne higher rice production this year compared to last year, as nearly 2 lakh tonne of paddy crop was destroyed due to the disaster.

The country?s largest rice-producing state West Bengal, on an average, produces about 160-170 lakh tonnes of rice every year.

Official sources said the total area under cultivation, which was damaged by the flood, was 91,000 hectares. About 90% of the damaged farmland was under kharif rice (aus and aman) production.

?We had earlier set a target of 1 lakh tonne higher rice production this year compared to last year (2012-13). But the flood destroyed major paddy crop and now we shall not meet this target,? state agriculture minister Moloy Ghatak told FE.

?Standing paddy crop was destroyed mainly in the East and West Midnapore districts and some parts of the Hooghly district. At least 4,70,000 farmers are hit,? Ghatak said.

The minister was, however, confident of higher rice production this year compared to last year, with major rice-growing regions such as Bardhaman and Nadia remaining largely unaffected.

?This year, the monsoon was good and extended. Distribution of rainfall was also excellent throughout the state. All these factors are expected to boost yield in the unaffected districts,? he averred.

According to a senior official of the state agriculture department, the flood had destroyed 2 lakh tonne of kharif rice, but the government has initiated an extensive programme to compensate the disaster-hit farmers in order to increase rice production in the upcoming rabi season.

?We have planned to distribute seeds as well as fertilisers to the affected farmers. It would not be too difficult for us to compensate the kharif crop loss by increasing rice production in the rabi season,? he said. The state grows about 50-52 lakh tonne of paddy during rabi season a year.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee earlier criticised the Jharkhand government and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for creating a ?man-made flood? by releasing a huge amount of water in the state, in which six districts were inundated and over 12,000 people affected. DVC, however, denied Banerjee?s charge.