Paddy farmers in Kuttanad are used to coping with different weather conditions, but of late climate change is making it harder for them to get a good yield.
The ongoing ‘puncha’ crop season has turned out to be a bitter one for the majority of farmers due to a steep fall in paddy output. The average yield dropped to two tonnes per acre from around three tonnes during a normal ‘puncha’ season. The low crop yield has mostly been reported from fields that cultivated Uma, the most popular rice variety in the region. The variety is grown in 80-90% of fields.
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Shifting rain pattern
P.J. Prasad, a veteran paddy farmer from Edathua in Kuttanad, says that extreme weather events are making it difficult to grow the crop. “In the last puncha season, farmers suffered losses due to torrential downpours. This time, however, a lack of rain has affected the crop. I used to harvest between 2.5 tonnes and three tonnes of paddy per acre. This season, the average yield dropped to 2.2 tonnes per acre,” says Mr. Prasad.
According to experts at the Rice Research Station, Mankombu, a research facility under the Kerala Agricultural University, reduced yield is caused by climate change. “When the plants needed rain, a dry spell prevailed in the region. Prolonged exposure to sunlight and high temperature resulted in plants losing moisture. It forced advanced grain maturity but with reduced weight. A lack of rainfall during the plant flowering period forced many to let saline water into fields. It affected plant health in several areas. The average yield has fallen to two tonnes per acre,” says M. Surendran, professor and head, Rice Research Station, Mankombu.
Adaptation measures
To deal with the impact of climate change, experts call for strict adherence to crop calendar and adaptation measures. “Uma, a long-duration rice variety, on average gives a yield between three to 3.25 tonnes per acre. There were instances when farmers produced four tonnes from an acre. But it is time to adapt to emerging situations. We should promote drought-tolerant and other climate-resilient varieties. From the farmers’ side, they should complete sowing by November end,” Mr. Surendran says.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has revised its paddy procurement target for Alappuzha. “About 80% of the paddy sown area has been harvested and we have so far procured 93,566 tonnes of paddy from the district. Though we set an initial target of 1,37,800 tonnes, it has now been lowered to 1.15- 1.2 lakh tonnes due to low yield,” says Anil K. Anto, paddy marketing officer.
Farmers have undertaken paddy farming on 28,663 hectares in the district, a major portion of which is in Kuttanad.
