Rainfall Brings Relief to Farmers in Mahottari After Dry Winter

Mahottari. Farmers in Mahottari, who were disheartened by the lack of rain throughout the winter, have felt a sense of relief. The rain that fell last Friday and Saturday has created sufficient moisture in the soil, bringing hope that agricultural activities will move forward.

Farmers say that the recent rainfall has been like nectar to the crops that were turning yellow due to the lack of water. "The land was hard and we couldn't plow; the tendrils of summer vegetables were wilting," said 60-year-old farmer Shubhnarayan Thakur of Bhangaha-4. "The recent rain brought great relief." Thakur stated that the tendrils of summer vegetables, which were wilting before the rain, became vibrant and lush within a day. With the weather clearing up on Sunday after two days of rain, it has become easier for farmers to resume agricultural work.

Farmers report that the recent rain has provided adequate moisture to the crops in the fields, and now they can plow the land to plant monsoon paddy and other crops. "The sugarcane plants were drying up due to lack of water; the rain brought much relief," said 30-year-old young farmer Nir Bahadur Khatri of Bardibas-7 Manharipur. "Now we will start plowing the fields to plant crops like monsoon paddy, maize, millet, and foxtail millet." Farmers also mentioned that the recent rain greatly benefited summer fruits like mango, litchi, and jackfruit.

"When it didn't rain, the mango and litchi blossoms (flowers, inflorescence) and young fruits were being destroyed by madhuwa (a type of blight affecting these fruits). After the rain, the webs and madhuwa on the branches of the fruit trees were washed away, bringing some relief," said 70-year-old fruit farmer Hotraj Ghimire of Bardibas-5 Cheru. "Now, treating the madhuwa might be effective." Farmers' past experience shows that when the roots of fruit trees have sufficient moisture, the fruit develops well, and pest attacks are also reduced.

The strong winds that blew before the rain on Friday evening caused minor damage to the crops. Farmers reported that the wind especially flattened maize plants that were developing cobs and tore off the tendrils of some summer vegetables in places.

However, farmers stated that since the strong winds stopped when the rain began, the damage was not extensive. Farmers are hopeful that the rain that fell on Friday evening and all day Saturday will keep the fields moist for some time.

The intense heat that began building up since mid-February due to the lack of winter rain has been significantly reduced by the recent rainfall. Farmers in the area say that besides being favorable for crops, the slight cooling of the weather has also made it much easier to get back to work.

The coming few months will be a busy time for farming, and farmers hope for timely, favorable rainfall intermittently. According to 65-year-old veteran farmer Raghu Kafle of Bardibas-6 Krishnapur, production is significantly impacted if the rainfall is favorable.

Although the district has a total of 71 thousand hectares of arable land, only 10 percent is irrigated land supplied by canals. Most farmers irrigate their crops by installing motors on wells, shallow tube wells, and borewells.

When there is a long dry spell, the sources of these alternative irrigation methods dry up quickly, causing problems for farmers. The Agriculture Knowledge Center Mahottari office stated that with these alternative irrigation methods connected, about 20 percent of the land in the district is irrigated. The remaining 80 percent of the land depends on rainwater, forcing farmers to wait for rain to plant and protect their crops.