KOTTAYAM
The summer showers that have lashed the region since last week spell a threat to the paddy crop across the Northern and Upper Kuttanad regions, raising concerns over reduction in yield and rotting of the grain.
The farmers are now worried about the chances of ripe paddy sprouting if the fields remain submerged for a few more days .While the harvesting machines cannot be made operational in water-logged fields, sickle-sawing of the reclining crop is regarded as uneconomical.
The perceived disruptions in harvest operations, in turn, has also cast a shadow over the next cycle of cultivation while the gaps in post-harvest storage management has further exacerbated their concerns.
Farmer organisations attribute the water-logging of fields primarily to the delta formations in the vicinity of the Thanneermukkom barrage.
“Even as the barrage remains opened through out the day, the delta formations that have come up in the Vembanad lake near Vechur are obstructing the outflow of water that reach the fields from the eastern high-ranges. The State government should come up with some additional measures such as installation of more pump sets to drain out the water-logged polders,” said Aby Ipe, district general secretary of the Karshaka Congress.
The region's farming calendar, according to him, originally stipulated the ongoing season to conclude by March itself so that the farmers will be able to launch the monsoon crop by May. Any delays in concluding the Punja season by March involves the risk of more losses due to summer rains, as is being witnessed now, he added.
Officials with the Agriculture department said the matured crops in several hectares of area from Vaikom to Pandalam were flattened by the rains, causing a loss of yield while also increasing the cost of harvesting.
“The changing rainfall patterns over the last couple of years has completely upended the farming calendar across Kuttanad. A process to assess the loss sustained through crop flattening will soon begin,” said a top official with the Agriculture department.
