Amravati: The sesame farmers in this district of Maharashtra are facing a fresh and unexpected challenge. The untimely rains have put their crop at risk of yield loss, causing economic distress just as harvest season begins. Farmers had pinned high hopes on their sesame crops this summer, saying that a five-acre farm typically yields about five quintals of sesame seeds. However, after unseasonal rains, even one quintal would be a relief for them, they say. “The rains have damaged our crops, so a bumper crop is not possible this year. We would be in a comfortable position, even with one quintal of sesame seeds,” said Dilip Patil, a farmer from Devgaon village, Dhamangaon Railway Taluka. “We started preparing for harvest more than a week ago, expecting a good crop, but the inclement weather ruined our plans,” he said. Sesame farmers of the neighbouring talukas of Amravati, Achalpur, Chandur Bazar, Nandgaon Khandeshwar, Tivsa, and Chandur Railway are also facing a similar situation after the recent rainfall. The crop is grown on about 4 per cent of the total 6.82 lakh hectares under Kharif cultivation in Amravati district, per the official data of the agriculture department. However, the continuous rainfall much before the monsoon has dashed the farmers' hopes. "Scattered rains of 25 mm have been recorded over the past eight days, with more expected in the next four days,” said Anil Bund, head of the meteorological department at Shri Shivaji Agriculture College. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) prediction says that heavy rain will continue across Vidarbha, including Amravati, Akola, and Buldhana districts.“When the time of harvesting comes, we are in a sky-high crisis. Even when the sesame comes to market, we don’t get the expected price,” said farmer Diwakar Raut. According to him, prices for sesame range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,700 per quintal. “It means a five-quintal yield would have earned farmers between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh. However, due to the rains, many will only earn around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000, not enough to cover their investment,” Raut said. He claimed that farmers would face huge losses if the yield were below one quintal per five acres. “In that case, there will be no return on the money we’ve spent on farming. We will be left with no option but to seek government support,” Raut added. Echoing his views, Patil said that low crop yields mean economic setbacks as financial strain multiplies when a farmer adds the cost of labour and transportation. “I had to hire 40 labourers from Talegaon Dashasar to harvest my sesame crop early. I paid Rs 10,000 in wages to workers and another Rs 20,000 for transport,” he said.Following the rainfall, the huge production of seeds gets damaged along with the leaves and oil quality, further reducing market value, Patil added.