Rainfall Trend and Variability Analysis for Resilient Crop Planning in Drought Prone Bolangir District of Odisha, India

Crop planning in a drought prone district is essential to maximize water efficiency, improved crop selection, optimize the use of available resources etc., which reduces the risk of crop failure and ensures better yield. In India, approximately 80% of the annual rainfall comes from the southwest monsoon. The spatial and temporal variations in monsoonal and annual precipitation are well recognized, and this year-to-year fluctuation in monsoon rainfall significantly affects agricultural production. Proper crop planning ensures most effective utilization of the limited resources available in drought prone regions. In this regard a study has been done to analyse the spatial- temporal rainfall distribution and its variability in Bolangir which is a drought prone district of Odisha. Present study reviled that the average annual rainfall in Balangir district was 1245.5 mm, consisting of one block with high rainfall, six blocks under very low rainfall and rest under moderate to low rainfall category. The 90% dependable rainfall is above 1000 mm in Balangir and Gudvella which assures the water requirement of medium duration rain-fed rice for these blocks and probability at 75% is more than 1300 mm in Gudvella block which is considered as suitable for most crops. Blocks namely Bangomunda and Patnagarh showed significant increasing trend where as Belpada and Loisingha showed significant decreasing trend for both rainfall and rainy days. The insights gained from this analysis can help farmers and agricultural planners select suitable crop varieties, determine optimal planting and harvesting schedules, and implement water-efficient irrigation strategies.