UP: Following Lockdown Woes, Farmers Left Distressed after Rain, Hail Damages Crops

Lucknow: Fifty-five-year-old Ramawadh Yadav lives in Rampur village, barely five kilometres from Azamgarh district, sits, clasping his forehead, near his field which is now completely damaged due to untimely rain and a hailstorm.

At the other end of the field, a harvester machine is busy felling the crop. Just about 24 hours ago, Ramawadh Yadav was completely unaware that his wheat crop would be flattened by the rain and strong winds.

Farmers devastated after hail, rain damage crops

At a time when a bumper harvest was expected in the Rabi season, farmers were anticipating a profit this year. However, first the lockdown added to farmers woes and now, rain accompanied by the gusty wind and a hailstorm in different districts of Uttar Pradesh has had a crippling effect on their livelihoods.

Thirty-six-year-old from Amoda village in Mohammadpur of Azamgarh district went through the same ordeal for his three bighas of land, which the giant harvester cleared in a few minutes. Fending for a family of 14, he and his sons now do not know how they will manage.

At the same time, farmers in the state are struggling to cope with a lack of labour during the harvest season that has come about right in the middle of the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19.

“This is harvest season and we were anticipating a good profit but heavy rain and hailstorm not only damaged our crops but also destroyed our livelihoods, as we are depended on farming. Most of the farmers in my village and even in the neighbouring village rely on the wheat crop as a key source of living,” Bablu told NewsClick, his voice choking.

“I had taken a loan from the bank to cultivate the crop. Now with my produce destroyed, I do not know how I will repay the loan,” a worried Ramawadh, told NewsClick.

Bablu and Ramawadh are among thousands of farmers across the state including small and well-off farmers who lost their crops due to unseasonal rain and wind.

Fear of more rain

The deadly coronavirus shutdown businesses, suspended transportation services and resulted in labourers being unavailable too. Amid all this, farmers were working to sell their produce. Now, unseasonal rains have wreaked havoc. Farmers fear more rain and are anxious amid delayed wheat procurement.

Kamakhya, a 60-year-old farmer, was unable to harvest his wheat crop due to the lack of labour, which has now been completely damaged due to the inclement weather.

"The rain last week also brought pain for farmers yet they somehow harvested their wheat, but this spell of rain and a hailstorm has pushed the farmers to the brink," he added.

Even a small farmer like Avimanyu from Lakhimpur Kheri, who has been taking farmland on lease, has sleepless nights because labourers are not ready for harvesting. “After a shortage of labour due to lockdown, bad weather and changing patterns of rainfall are posing a new challenge and threat to the farmers,” he said.

Harinam Singh Verma, vice-president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Uttar Pradesh, told NewsClick that “it is a double-whammy for farmers. First, they were hit as there were no labourers due to the lockdown. There were heavier rains this April as compared to previous years and due to delays in procurement, some of our crops was damaged. No labour was available for harvesting so the process took place at a slow pace.”

He said that Azamgarh was witness to hail weighing between one and two kilograms on Sunday, and most of the farmers in the district were hit the hardest. “The sugarcane belt including Rampur, Meerut, Moradabad, Bijnor will face challenges. Forty per cent of wheat crops needs to be harvested. The reason behind this is that in farmers in Western Uttar Pradesh usually sow wheat in the month of January after harvesting sugarcane crop,” he added.

The BKU leader also said that the UP government will not be able to achieve its target Rabi wheat procurement of 5.5 mn tonnes at Rs 1,925/quintal MSP. "First the government has not set a standard amount for wheat crop and now unseasonal rain and hailstorm has caused a lot of damage. If the wheat crop reaches the mandi drenched, it will also backfire on the farmers,” he added.

According to recent reports, crops worth nearly Rs 255 crore have been damaged by hailstorms and heavy rainfall across 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh so far this year. While nearly 6.5 lakh farmers are likely to be affected, the estimated area of crop damage is roughly around 2.37 lakh hectare.

Maheshwar Singh, Gorakhpur district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BHANU), told NewsClick that farming was at the “mercy of weather Gods and the state government. This year the crop has been damaged by rains, hail storms and windstorms. We are now looking to state government authorities to come and assess the damage."

Untimely rains and a hailstorm lashed 14 districts of the state which include Azamgarh, Fatehpur Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Bahraich, Gonda, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Amethi, Jhansi, Etawah, Lakhimpurkhiri, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra.

This is the second time this year when untimely rain and hailstorm hit farmers in Uttar Pradesh. At least 28 people, including women and children, were killed across the state due to untimely rains accompanied by a hailstorm in the second week of March. It also caused massive damage to standing Rabi crops of wheat, potato, and mustard.