Cloudy weather prevailing in the State has created panic among aqua farmers. Fearing mortality of shrimp and fish in tanks, they are catching the produce hurriedly to prevent losses.
Shrimp and fish are cultivated in about 51,776 hectares in fresh and salt water tanks across the State. More than 5 lakh families depend on the aqua sector directly and indirectly and the State, with 34 % share, stands first in aqua production in the country.
Farmers are worried over losses in the first quarter of 2020-21 due to COVID-19, which affected exports, and fall in prices in the international market.
Adding to the coronavirus scare, which has been haunting the aqua sector since December- January, cloudy weather prevailing in the State was creating much panic among farmers. Some parts of the State received rainfall on Tuesday and damaged agriculture and horticulture crops in a few acres.
“I raised L. vannamei investing about ₹6 lakh, but the coronavirus outbreak has shattered my dreams. Now, the drop in temperatures and scanty rainfall in a few pockets is worrying us a lot,” said a farmer S. Radhakrishna of Kalidindi in Krishna district.
‘Govt. must intervene’
“If the weather continues for a few more days, shrimp will die due to drop in dissolved oxygen levels in waters. We have to harvest the produce immediately to prevent mortality and further loss,” said another farmer J. Nagaraju of Undi in West Godavari district.
“Even if farmers take the trouble of harvesting the tanks, processing, packing, the export companies are not ready to lift the stocks due to poor transport, non-availability of ice, vehicles and drivers during the lockdown period. As aqua products come under perishable goods, we request the government to take the produce directly and save the farmers,” said Chinta Ramalakshmi, a worker in a processing unit of Pulapalli village in West Godavari district.
