PHULBANI: Hilly terrain, lack of irrigation facilities and scanty rainfall have spelt doom for cultivation in the district. The last two years have recorded 225-mm and 198-mm rainfall, way below the average for the district, which has destroyed kharif crop in the plains. Absence of a major irrigation project has been an impediment. There is only one medium irrigation project and a few lift irrigation projects, which fail to meet the water requirement of the district. The programmes undertaken by the Central and State governments under watershed and drought eradication scheme too have failed to change the grim picture. The only recourse seems an alternate cultivation mode. Geographically hills and highland comprise two thirds of the district area, which is best suited for cultivation of maize, peas, groundnut, black gram and fruits like mango, lichi, banana, medicinal plants and vegetables, opined the District Agriculture Departmental Authority. Meanwhile, farmers who have shifted to maize cultivation under the Rashtriya Krushi Vikas Yojana are reaping what they have sown, said the agriculture authority.Maize cultivation was taken up on 4,000 hectares in all the 12 blocks of the district this year, on an experimental basis, which earned farmers good profit with less effort. The success has inspired the administration to extend maize cultivation to 10,000 hectares. Besides, farmers are being encouraged to take up non-paddy crops though awareness campaigns.
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