With the abrupt change in rainfall pattern, the farm calendar of upper and northern Kuttanad regions has gone for a toss with paddy farmers facing the prospects of huge loss.
According to farmers, torrential rain in the latter part of monsoon has hit the harvesting of the Virippu (monsoon) crop across the region, besides bringing to light gaps in post-harvest storage management. The delay in concluding the season has also cast a shadow over the next cycle of cultivation as well.
The region’s farm calendar stipulate the Virippu season to begin in May-June so as to complete the harvest by October-November. A timely completion of the monsoon crop will enable the farmers to launch the next season, Punja , by mid-November. Any delay in concluding the Punja season by March involves the risk of more losses due to summer rain, as witnessed in April this year.
Officials of the Agriculture Department say unrelenting rain had flattened matured crop in several hectares and this will cause loss of lustre and yield, besides increasing the harvesting cost. Taking note of the situation, the department has now approached the Government for additional measures such as installation of more pumps to drain out water-logged polders.
“The changing rainfall pattern over the last couple of years has upended the farming calendar while the shortage of harvest machines is the latest addition to the woes of farmers. A process is on to ascertain the exact loss sustained through crop flattening this season,” says Beena George, principal agriculture officer, Kottayam.
As per preliminary estimates, nearly half of the 4,653.13 ha under the Virippu crop has been affected. Even in locations where harvest is over, rain has left its mark on the grain by causing germination or decay.
Farmers under the aegis of the Upper Kuttanad Karshika Vikasana Samiti and the Meenachil-Meenanthara- Kodoor river relinking initiative have submitted petitions to Agriculture Minister P. Prasad seeking Government intervention to tide over the crisis.
The samiti, meanwhile, has also urged the Government to extend the deadline of reporting crop loss from November 15, besides raising the compensation from ₹5,400 per acre.
All eyes are now on a visit by the Minister to the district on November 27 to attend a district-level meeting of the department.
