The reasonably good yield of paddy, thanks to the favourable climatic conditions that prevailed in the recent past, has brought much cheer to the tribal farmers of Kolli Hills.
The harvest season has already commenced in a majority of the villages on the hills and is expected to be completed soon.
Kolli Hills is widely known for its rich herbal wealth, and as such all the farm produce cultivated here enjoy a growing demand round the year. Banana, jack fruit, and pineapple occupy a lion’s share of the produce. Other than these, farmers also cultivate pepper, tamarind and paddy on a large area.
Pepper and tamarind are sold at the local markets situated in various parts of Namakkal and Salem districts. Traders from the western belt make a beeline to the tribal villages regularly for procuring tamarind and other fruits directly from the farms.
The paddy farmers are involved in raising double crop every farm season. They adopt conventional agricultural practices. They convert the paddy into rice by adopting the age-old manual practice (Kaikutthal arisi). None of the tribal farmers market paddy or rice produce, as it is chiefly meant for their domestic consumption.
The land holding of each tribal farmer is very limited and hence the production is so meagre that it is just sufficient to meet his personal consumption needs. The maximum area of individual holding does not exceed 3.5 acres.
With hills experiencing timely widespread rainfall during the last farm season, the realisation of water has enriched paddy growth and tribal farmers are happy over the reasonably good yield and also its quality.
The major sources of irrigation are the farm wells and the local streams flowing on the hills.
A cross section of the farmers of Ariyurnaadu tribal village say they do not apply chemical fertilizers, thereby maintaining the fertility of the soil in good condition down the generations. Farm machinery such as ploughing and harvesting equipment are yet to reach these villages.
“We are content with what we achieve by adopting the traditional methods”, the farmers say with a sense of satisfaction.
