C.V. Mathew, a traditional pokkali farmer at Kumbalanghi, recalls how things were decades ago.
His forefathers nursed the paddy so well that they received bumper harvests in return. But the labour-intensive variety of paddy is losing traction among farmers now.
K.A. Thomas, a pokkali farmer at Kadamakudy, which is around 30 km north of Kumbalanghi, counts the bags of unsold pokkali rice from last year’s harvest stored in a room.
“Two tonnes at least,” he sighs.
P.T. Swapnalal of the nearby Varapuzha panchayat says he has almost given up cultivating this unique, GI-tagged variety of paddy that is saline tolerant. “Why should I sow the seeds to reap bigger debts and more sorrow?” he asks.
Pokkali farmers are living on the edge.
Organic, medicinal
Pokkali cultivation needs no use of fertiliser or pesticide as it follows a unique rotational crop pattern.
The paddy is cultivated from April to October when the salt content in water is lowered by monsoon rain, whereas prawns are farmed in the same fields between November and March when the water records higher salinity.
Ideally, shrimp culture should be wound up by mid-April and the land drained of salt water, followed by ploughing, and preparation of mounds and furrows before pokkali cultivation begins after monsoon makes landfall. The rain rinses away the excess salt content in the water, setting the field ready for sowing pokkali seeds by mid-June.
After pokkali harvest in October, the stubble is left as such, and the field is flooded to accelerate the decaying process of the stalk, which acts as feed for the shrimp, while the dead skin and excreta of prawns form manure for the paddy.
“The gene that allows pokkali to withstand the salt content in the water is called saltol. This gene is isolated and used even for international breeding programmes,” says Dr. Sreelatha A.K., Assistant Professor and head of Kerala Agricultural University’s (KAU) Vyttila Rice Research Station (RRS).
When modern mills shave off the bran from rice varieties such as basmati, traditional mills that process pokkali retain them which ensures micronutrients in the latter. “Besides this, pokkali has high quantities of antioxidants and proteins and is good for diabetics,” explains Veena Vigneshwaran, Assistant Professor at RRS, Vyttila.
However, the land under pokkali cultivation has steadily come down over the years. “What used to be around 24,000 hectares decades ago, has plummeted to below 6,000 hectares by 2014, of which just around 1,000 hectares are under cultivation in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Thrissur combined,” says Deepa Thomas, Assistant Professor, RRS, Vyttila.
Labour woes, poor returns
“When labour costs have shot up to over ₹1,000 for half a day’s work, the produce needs to be sold at a minimum of ₹100 per kg despite subsidies, given that the yield of pokkali paddy is way lesser than that of other rice varieties,” says Umesh Pai, another pokkali farmer from Varapuzha.
Thomas of Kadamakudy says he was forced to sell a part of his produce at ₹50 per kg.
“Field preparation, maintaining bunds, and harvesting require skilled labour. Due to the same reason, deploying labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has not shown promising results. Moreover, the younger generation has no interest in farming,” says Thomas.
Umesh says more efforts are needed to popularise pokkali, and it is becoming more unviable to continue farming when agencies such as Palliyakal Service Cooperative Bank and Korampadam Service Cooperative Bank are ready to offer only around ₹50 per kg.
However, Harold Nicholson, president of Korampadam Service Cooperative Bank, argues that they are doing everything possible to market the produce as a premium variety.
“We are trying to develop a culture among the public for pokkali consumption. We procure pokkali from farmers and process it into products such as steamed rice cake powder and rice flakes,” he says.
“The government,” he says, “could consider giving a minimum support price of ₹28 per kg to the farmers.”
Mechanisation
To reduce the heavy dependency of pokkali farming on labour, KAU had previously come up with a couple of designs that had failed due to the soft, soggy nature of soil on pokkali fields.
A new amphibian feed harvester has been developed under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Farm Implements and Machinery that has shown promise. “Our proposal has been accepted by the government, and we are waiting for the approval of funds. We would require around ₹60 lakh for its production that would take around a year,” says Sindu Bhaskar, Assistant Professor at Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (KCAET) under KAU, who worked on the harvester’s design.
Aquaculture threat
When the cost of labour and its shortage were cited as prime reasons for the decline in pokkali cultivation by ryots in Kadamakkudy and Varapuzha, farmers from Chellanam and Kumbalanghi have a different take on the issue. Mathew from Kumbalanghi says workers prefer the better remunerative aquaculture over pokkali.
“When a shrimp farmer sells his produce, buyers come with vehicles, neatly pack the prawns in ice, and make payment within a week. Whereas for pokkali, the farmer has to shell out transport cost, pack the produce, and finally, if he manages to sell the paddy, it might fetch around ₹25 per kg. Where is the surprise in people shifting to shrimp culture all year long?” Mathew asks.
At Chellanam, farmers such as Francis Kalathungal, who is also the general convener of Pokkali Samrakshana Samiti, says that pokkali farming on the island is just a gimmick to secure subsidies from the government.
“People cultivate shrimp almost all-year long and claim to be cultivating pokkali just to secure aquaculture licence and subsidies. With no pesticides and fertilisers to be bought, and subsidies given for ploughing and weeding in addition to a production bonus, it is still possible to cultivate pokkali economically,” he says.
Chandu M.M., a 78-year-old farmer at Chellanam, corroborates that few people like him who wish to continue pokkali cultivation are rendered helpless as other landowners choose not to drain water from their fields so that they can continue shrimp farming.
“Since saline water must be pumped out from one ‘padasekharam’ [paddy polder], if others don’t cooperate, there is no way to dry the field, prepare mounds, and sow pokkali seeds. And, the Krishi Bhavan does not monitor whether the fields are properly drained to aid paddy cultivation,” he adds
He says that ‘Matsya mafia’ makes sure that licences are given to anyone without proper background checks.
But farmers such as E.D. Joseph from Pizhala in Kadamakkudy, who also runs a homestay in his pokkali field, claim that aquaculture is just used to supplement their income.
“In recent years, even shrimp farming is turning non-profitable as several viral diseases affect the larvae,” he says.
Dr. Sreelatha says that cultivation of shrimp for more than the stipulated six months’ time could lead to larvae getting affected by diseases in addition to turning the groundwater more saline. Pokkali fields, after proper preparation of land and exposure to monsoon rain, act as aquifers and recharge the groundwater. Francis and Chandu add that many wells in Chellanam have already turned salty.
“Years ago, Pokkali fields used to shine in the light like gold. The decaying patches of land now look like mounds of grey ash,” rues Chandu.
