After almost a decade, paddy farmers of East Godavari district, Konaseema region in particular, are all smiles. The reason — bumper yield during rabi, which comes to an end in a fortnight.

The farmers, including those from the upland areas, registered a yield of 50 to 60 bags. “The harvesting season will draw to a close before May 15. This time, water for central delta was given till April 15 on the request of farmers of the Konaseema region,” said Kumara Swami, leader of the Konaseema farmer’s association.

He, along with other farmer leaders, led a crop holiday in the Konaseema region for almost 90 days in 2011. This season, paddy was grown in 3.75 lakh acres and a yield of 16 lakh tonnes expected.

According to Joint Collector J. Satyanarayana, 284 procurement centres have been opened. This is the first time that the yield is more than what is expected by the Agriculture Department.