Crops take a hit with 42% deficient rainfall in Haryana :

1. The double whammy of deficient rainfall and whitefly attack seems to have broken the backbone of farmers in Hisar and Bhiwani districts during the current kharif season. The main crops of cotton and paddy have suffered extensive damage in the region as farmers are resorting to destroying their standing crops which have gone pale due to lack of irrigation.

2. Agricultural scientists maintained that with 42% deficient rainfall, the crop yield was likely to come down drastically. It is hope that the state government is taking stock of the situation and it’s definitely drought-like conditions.

3. Farmers’ organisations have demanded special girdwari from the government to assess the crop loss while demanding that the region be declared “drought-hit”. Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Kisan Sabha have stated that the farmers are approaching the authorities with complaints about the crop loss but their applications are not being entertained for insurance survey under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

4. Crops such as cotton, moong and gawar were also affected 50% to 100% in areas like Balsamand, Adampur and Barwala.

5. An agriculture development officer (ADO) reported that  whitefly attack damaged 25% to 40% of the cotton crop in some parts of Hisar, while the loss to paddy was more or less the same on account of scanty rainfall. Hisar has 1.47 lack hectares under cotton and 50,000 hectares under paddy.

6. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that except for Yamunanagar and Sirsa, all other districts in the state had deficient rainfall (approximately -42 per cent) during the monsoon. Rohtak district was the worst affected with -71% rainfall. Farmers got good rainfall at the time of sowing but when the crop was in the maturing stage, the less than average monsoon adversely affected the crop.

Agriculture in Haryana :

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70% of residents are engaged in agriculture. Haryana is at Second position in food grain production in the country.Wheat and rice are the major crops. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. The main crops of Haryana are Wheat, Rice, Sugarcane, Coton, Oilseeds, Gram Barley, Corn, Millet etc. There are two main types of crops in Haryana: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, lowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, sesame and groundnut. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are Wheat, tobacco, gram, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March.

About 86% of the area is arable, and of that 96% is cultivated. About 75% of the area is irrigated, through tubewells and an extensive system of canals. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s that made the country self-sufficient in food production. The state has also significantly contributed to the field of agricultural education in the country. Asia's biggest agricultural University - Chaudhry Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University is located at Hisar which has already made a significant contribution in ushering 'Green Revolution'.