The area under paddy cultivation has decreased by 4,660 hectares in Dakshina Kannada district this kharif season. According to the Agriculture Department, this is because of a lack of sufficient and timely rainfall in June and July. Area under paddy has decreased from 28,000 to 23,340 hectares. There was not enough timely rainfall, paddy growers could not plant their nursery saplings. There should have been continuous rainfall to plant one-month-old nursery saplings. Intermittent rain forced the farmers to put off planting and finally discard the nursery saplings. The fall in coverage did not mean that the other lands came under commercial crops. A progressive farmer and paddy grower from Nada village near Ujire, said many upland farmers who entirely depended on rain did not take up paddy cultivation this kharif. This was because their crops failed last kharif when the rains stopped after the planting of nursery saplings. Scarred by that experience, this year they stayed away from sowing. Lowland farmers did take up paddy cultivation with the available rain and other water sources. “Whatever area is under paddy this year is because of lowland farmers. On the other hand, intermittent rain would help in increasing the yield by at least a quintal an acre. “Farmers in Dakshina Kannada usually harvest 18 to 19 quintals of paddy an acre. With intermittent rain, the yield can go up by at least a quintal,” he said. He added that as there was no continuity in rains, last kharif season too there was a rise in yield.