Farmers in Udaipur Struggle with Crop Survey Discrepancies

UDAIPUR, Oct 24: Farmers in Udaipur district face significant issues as discrepancies emerge between the crops they planted and those recorded during the recent girdaavari, or crop survey.

The survey, which assesses Kharif crops, revealed instances where maize was misreported as guar or jowar. District Collector Gaurav Agarwal stated, “We will correct the shortcomings found in the girdaavari,” and asserted that action will be taken against those involved in the discrepancies.

In Kurabad, farmer Anop Singh reported that while he planted maize, the survey recorded his land as having guar. He said no officials came to inspect his field. Similarly, Madhosingh found his soybean crop recorded as jowar despite planting both maize and soybean, which were damaged by wild boars.

In Girwa, a farmer discovered that his harvested maize was recorded as barren land, while in Debari, two other fields with maize were misreported as vacant land. Farmer Kailash Mali stated he has cultivated maize and wheat in those fields for six years, yet the survey marked them as fallow.

The survey began late this year, from September 1 to October 15, a month behind schedule due to a strike. According to regulations, a patwari (land record officer) must visit each field for inspection, with additional verification from locals if needed. Discrepancies were found despite a three-tier verification process.

This year, the sowing target for Kharif crops in the district was set at 186,120 hectares, with farmers achieving sowing on approximately 183,400 hectares, or 98.54 percent of the target area. Given the adverse impact expected on crop production and farmers’ incomes due to weak monsoon, inaccuracies in the girdaavari could complicate compensation for affected farmers.

Agricultural insurance policies in the district are supposed to provide compensation based on the actual crops grown, but the inaccuracies complicate this process for farmers.