15 June 2024, Jalna: The districts of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Jalna in the Indian state of Maharashtra have experienced a significant impact on their sweet lemon cultivation due to prevailing drought conditions and water scarcity. As the leading producer of sweet lemons in the country, the state has witnessed over 1.1 million sweet lemon trees across 4,062 hectares of land being affected by the adverse environmental conditions.
This situation has arisen from insufficient rainfall last year, leading to widespread drying of sweet lemon trees. Jalna district, in particular, has faced more severe losses with trees on 3,600 hectares drying up. In an effort to mitigate the situation, some farmers have resorted to cutting down the affected trees.
The agriculture sector in these districts, which relies heavily on crops like sweet lemon that require year-round water availability, faces recurrent losses approximately every five years due to similar environmental challenges. The loss of sweet lemon trees not only affects immediate agricultural output but also has long-term implications for the farmers in the region, who are heavily dependent on this crop for their livelihoods.
