VIJAYAWADA: Agricultural operations have picked up momentum in the past 10 days and 70 per cent cutting operations were completed in the Krishna delta. Though the recent heavy rain caused some damage, the farmers heaved a sigh of relief as there was no further damage during the harvesting days.

The paddy midfields, raised beds and roads became beehives of activity these days with men and women participating in the winnowing and threshing activities. Tractors used in threshing the harvested paddy with the help of agriculture workers in the fields offered a common sight.

Agriculture officials said that the total agricultural operations would come to a close in the delta in 10 to 15 days. As of now, winnowing and threshing operations were in full swing. The average yield was expected to be 5.8 tonnes per acre as against 6.5 tonnes per acre.

Joint Director of Agriculture S. Jagadeeswara Reddy said that 15 per cent of the crop was damaged during the recent heavy rains. The crop in 27,000 hectares out of 1.5 lakh hectares was damaged in the recent rains. This `rabi' season, the paddy coverage came to nearly 1.5 lakh hectares as against the normal area of 46,216 hectares.

As the crop-cutting operations were in final stages, the farmers faced the problem of workers not being available to the required extent.

As per a rough estimate, 15 per cent farmers brought their produce on to the roads for winnowing and threshing the grain. This was because of their lands being located in low-lying areas and that the lands would remain damp for more than a month after the closure of crop-cutting operations. In the interior areas, the farmers would spread thick sheets made of fertiliser bags and take up the winnowing operations. Some farmers developed raised beds, which would be left untouched during agricultural operations and which would be used only for threshing and winnowing.

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