Weather dashes hopes of paddy farmers

Many youths had turned to farming after losing their jobs during the pandemic

Rain damage: One of the affected paddy fields in Mukkom Municipality.

Intermittent rainfall within a week time has caused huge loss to paddy farmers who had been waiting for a good ‘Mundakan’ harvest next month to overcome the financial crisis caused by the pandemic outbreak. Joint farmer groups and those who took loans for cultivation were among those hit by the unexpected weather change. There were also youngsters who turned to paddy farming after losing their job in the pandemic period.

Mukkom, Kodiyathur and Karassery villages have the highest number of such paddy fields hit by the downpour. Local administrators are also in shock as they had eagerly been waiting for the success of model farming projects supported by various government schemes.

A farmer from Chennamangaloor

said there were many youths who took up paddy farming ventures after converting large acres of fallow land into cultivable fields. Land earlier used for only plantain farming and areca nut cultivation also had been prepared for resuming paddy farming with the support of local bodies, he said.

Villages like Pulparambu, Cheruvadi and Pottassery also witnessed perishing of large acres of paddy. Farmers with exclusive varieties also suffered huge loss.

Crop insurance

Local body members from Karassery and Kodiyathur said farmers would be able to claim crop insurance assistance to compensate the loss. But, it would never be sufficient to console them and compensate for their hard work on the field, they said. Officials from the Agriculture Department said the areas where crop loss had already been confirmed would be assessed soon by their team for submitting a report to the State government. It would take a few more days to get an accurate figure of the total loss in the field in Kozhikode district, they said.