The 60-acre Kuzhippadavu padasekharam (paddy polder) under the Edathua Krishi Bhavan in Kuttanad was to go under combine harvesters on April 10. Two days after the scheduled harvest, the field continues to remain waterlogged with matured crops lying submerged.
"There won't be much grain left on the plants. As the summer rain continues to lash, we don't know when we will be able to complete dewatering and harvest what is left behind. It will be an arduous task to deploy combine harvesters as the machines would get stuck in the mud" says P.J. Prasad, a paddy farmer.
Mr. Prasad (50), who cultivated paddy in three acres of leased land in the polder, is staring at huge losses. "I have cultivated paddy after taking a loan and I need to repay it. I was expecting a yield of at least 75 quintals this season. Things were going well until heavy downpours began to lash the region last week and upended hopes of a good harvest," he says.
