Latest rain spell damages crops on 28,364 hectares in Nashik, pushing over 39,000 farmers deeper into distress

Nashik: Unseasonal heavy rainfall, accompanied by hailstorms, on Thursday left a trail of destruction across Nashik district, flattening standing crops on more than 28,364 hectares and pushing 39,814 farmers from 349 villages deeper into distress, agriculture department's preliminary assessment revealed on Friday.According to the preliminary report, the worst devastation was reported in Baglan tehsil, where crops spread across 18,102 hectares were battered by relentless rain. Niphad followed with losses on 5,330 hectares, while Malegaon and Sinnar talukas reported damage on 1,747 hectares and 1,728 hectares, respectively. Crop losses have also been recorded from Kalwan, Dindori, Nashik, Igatpuri and Yeola talukas, agriculture officials said.Among all crops, onions bore the brunt of nature's fury, with damage reported on 22,726 hectares. Wheat suffered losses on 1,920 hectares, pomegranate orchards on 1,758 hectares, while grapes and vegetables were damaged across 641 hectares and 863 hectares, respectively.The latest loss has compounded the misery caused by earlier spells of unseasonal rain since mid-March. Crops across 30,448 hectares had already been damaged between March 19 and March 31. With the latest losses, the total crop damage in Nashik district between March 19 and April 2 has now crossed 58,812 hectares, dealing a crushing blow to the agrarian economy."Onion farmers have suffered disproportionately during this period, with total damage to the crop alone touching 46,197 hectares. Other major crops hit include pomegranate (4,995 hectares) and wheat (4,299 hectares), while grapes and maize were damaged on 902 hectares and 933 hectares, respectively," an official said.Agriculture department teams have been deployed across affected talukas to carry out panchanama of crop losses and prepare detailed reports for submission to the state government, the officials said.Adding to farmers' anxiety, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rainfall over the next two days, Saturday and Sunday, raising fears of further damage as crops still stand exposed in several fields. "The unseasonal rainfall between March 19 and April 2 has wreaked havoc, especially for onion farmers, who are not even getting remunerative prices," Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra Onion Farmers Association, said.Dighole said while the cost of producing onions was around Rs 1,800 per quintal, farmers were receiving only about Rs 900 per quintal in wholesale markets. "Farmers are unable to recover even their production costs. We urge state govt to complete the panchanama process at the earliest and provide immediate financial relief to the rain-hit farmers," he added.