Paddy cultivators feel the pinch in Wayanad

Market price dips, farmers yet to get minimum support price in full

Paddy farmers in Wayanad district are in distress because of a sharp decline in production owing to various crop diseases, untimely rain, and shortage of labourers. Moreover, the market price of paddy has dipped.

The spot price of the Matta variety was ₹1,800 to ₹1,850 a quintal at the Meenangadi market on Thursday against ₹1,500 a quintal a few weeks ago. It was ₹2,200 a quintal four months ago. The minimum support price for paddy has been fixed at ₹2,330 a quintal by the government, including the State intensive bonus of ₹1,550. But farmers in the region say they get only ₹1,800 a quintal.

Reasons for price fall

“It is sad that we are forced to sell our produce at such a low price,” says Kesavan Keezhanikkal, a farmer in Panamaram. “Traders push down the price of paddy during the Nancha harvest (winter crop) citing excess moisture content,” he says.

“There is not much demand for paddy farmed n the district at the rice mills in Kalady and Palakkad owing to the cultivation of mixed rice varieties,” according to Ibrahim, a paddy trader at Meenangadi.

Government norm

As per the data with the Principal Agriculture Office, Wayanad, paddy was cultivated on 8,000 hectares of land this season and 20,000 persons were engaged in its farming. But only 820 farmers have registered online to sell their produce at the minimum support price to Supplyco. Only cleaned paddy with less than 17% moisture content is being procured, farming sources said. The farmers are unable to fulfil this norm set by the government since it is difficult to dry the crop in cloudy weather.

The agency is yet to complete paddy procurement that was to be completed four months ago during the ‘puncha’ season in Padinharethara and Kottathara grama panchayats.

A spurt in pest attacks and diseases owing to climate variation too is telling on the yield. As per the Agriculture Department, paddy in more than 100 hectares, especially at Mananthavady, Nenmeni, Noolpuzha, and Vellamunda, was destroyed in pest attacks this season.