‘Pokkali' rice paddy — organically grown, salt-resistant variety unique to the coastal areas of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur, has surged back thanks largely to the near-ideal conditions this season, and efforts by the Department of Agriculture to woo more farmers to cultivation.
Ernakulam district, which accounts for the largest area under ‘pokkali' cultivation, has seen substantial increase in the area under cultivation this year.
Increase in acreage, and use of high yielding varieties had resulted in much higher production this year, said officials of the Agriculture Department here on Wednesday.
In Ernakulam's southernmost panchayat, Chellanam, acreage under ‘pokkali' has gone up to 178 hectares this year from last year's level of less than 100 hectares. One of the notable achievements this year had been that fields that were lying fallow for over 15 years could be brought under cultivation, said an official.
Kumbalanghi panchayat has seen the largest gains for ‘pokkali' this year. Acreage under the paddy variety has gone up to 240 acres this year from last year's 50 acres.
This was facilitated by the use of labour under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, said an official.
Kadamakkudy panchayat, which has the thickest concentration of ‘pokkali' fields in Ernakulam, has expanded cultivation to 200 hectares from last year's 180.
Production is expected to average a little less than three tonnes a hectare. Most of the farmers have used the Vyttila 6 variety of ‘pokkali' paddy, which has shown yields ranging between 4.5 and six tonnes a hectare.
However, ‘pokkali,' like other paddy cultivation in the State, is reeling under a severe shortage of hands for harvest.
“Preparation of land for this year's crop went off smoothly thanks to the rural employment scheme. If rice harvesting is also brought under the programme, it will make a big difference,” said an official of the Agriculture Department here.
Another problem affecting ‘pokkali' cultivation is the attack from Purple Moorhen, which has turned a major problem in panchayats such as Chellanam.
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Scientists like V. Sreekumaran, Vyttila Rice Research Station, felt that much more needed to be done for ‘pokkali' rice cultivation. It was still fully rain-fed and often there was not enough rain to create the best conditions for cultivation, he said. ‘Pokkali' rice should get a premium through better marketing so that more farmers were drawn to cultivating it, and the problem of bird attacks should be addressed as a serious issue, he said.
Another official said that ‘pokkali' rice, though had the protection of Geographical Indication, its potential had not been fully exploited.
Its potential for export should be explored and exploited, he said.
