The harvest of paddy crops cultivated in the additional (second) crop season has begun in Kuttanad. The 200-acre Vadakara-Edassery-Varambinakam paddy polder under Champakulam Krishi Bhavan was the first to go under combine harvesters.
Earlier, the farmers in over half a dozen fields had been forced to postpone harvest after heavy downpours, coupled with the flow of floodwaters from the eastern side, inundated the fields. The process resumed after rains halted and fields were dewatered.
Farmers have undertaken paddy farming on 8,765 hectares in the additional season in the district, a major portion of which is in Kuttanad. Farmers said that there is uncertainty over the procurement of the harvested crop.
