Pulwama, Sep 21: The rice blast disease has affected large tracts of paddy fields in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, leaving hundreds of paddy farmers distraught.
The disease, which is a fungal infestation, has attacked the crop in Litter tehsil of the district.
Ali Muhammad, a local, said that the disease had attacked around 40 percent of the crop and the most affected areas include Herpora, Zahid Bagh, and Rajpora.
He said that paddy was a vital crop in the area as most people in the village live off the land and rely on paddy crops for their livelihood.
Many farmers said that the disease had distressed them and would significantly impact the yield.
“The government should provide us an adequate compensation,” they said.
Chief Agriculture Officer, Pulwama, Muhammad Iqbal told Greater Kashmir that the diseases could not be prevented at this stage as the crop was being harvested.
He said that the department had already dispatched a team to the area to assess the damage.
The officer said that they had already encouraged the farmers to insure their crops under Pradhanmantri Fasal Beema Yojna (PMBY), a government-sponsored insurance scheme rolled out in 2016-2017.
“Unfortunately, only a scant percentage of farmers have insured their crop,” he said.
The officer said that the farmers should not use the seed from the affected crop for the next farming season.
“There are many disease-resistant varieties of rice. The farmers should cultivate such varieties and follow the advisories by the department issued from time to time,” he said.