Nabarangpur, 30th Oct 2025, In Nabarangpur district, neck blast disease has affected crops on about 1.5 lakh hectares of farmland. Despite repeated spraying of pesticides, the disease could not be controlled, and approximately 25% of the crops have been damaged. This has caused considerable concern among farmers.
Fearing the approaching cyclone, farmers have now started harvesting rice from their fields. Some of the rice in the lower parts of the fields is falling to the ground, while farmers are harvesting the sturdy rice stalks and bringing them home.
Example: Dhanujaya Bhatra, a farmer from Tirlambaguda in Sanmasigaon Panchayat of Nabarangpur block, cultivates rice on 3 acres of land. He had followed government-recommended practices, applying the specified amount of cow dung compost, chemical fertilizers, urea, and potash. Despite these measures, the rice plants were affected by neck blast, prompting him to begin harvesting to save what he can.
Farmers like Dhanujaya, as well as those from Tirlambaguda, Bhatarasiuni, Sanmasigaon, Badmasigaon, and Taragaon areas, are worried about potential losses and have started harvesting early due to fears of heavy rain.
Many farmers who took Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance last year have not yet received their insurance payouts, said farmer Balram Bhatra. To control neck blast, departmental staff are going from village to village creating awareness and guiding farmers on preventive measures, according to the District Chief Agriculture Officer Sudhi Ranjan Behera.
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