Sajimon Vadakkechavara had cultivated the second crop (additional crop season) of paddy in seven acres at Kuttamangalam in Kainakary. The torrential rain and floods in July washed out his entire crop and he suffered a loss of ₹2 lakh.
It was not anticipated but not totally unexpected during the monsoon season. As a seasoned farmer, he was expecting to compensate the loss in the coming puncha season. But, then came the biggest deluge in August that ravaged the entire rice bowl of Kerala.
Now, with the puncha season around the corner, both the Agriculture Department and farmers are faced with a daunting task of preparing flood-hit paddy fields in Kuttanad.
Most fields under water
The majority of fields are still flooded with de-watering making only slow progress. Farmers say it is a race against time to catch up with the sowing season.
“We usually start preparing the fields for puncha farming in Chingam (August-September) by draining water. Following this, weeds will be destroyed before sowing taking place in Thulam (October- November). Now, we are at the end of Chingam and de-watering is yet to begin in several fields. This time, we will have to use weedicide, as there is going to be little time for plucking out weeds. The floods also brought a new threat to paddy fields in the form of waterweed. It is going to be a big challenge to prepare the fields in time for sowing. At the same time, we cannot delay the sowing as salinity will affect the crop,” Sajimon told The Hindu.
Preparing the fields is not the only concern for the farmers. Many fear the northeast monsoon will play spoilsport during the sowing period.
The season witnesses the largest acreage of paddy cultivation in the district, with around 30,000 hectares in comparison with 10,000 hectares for second crop.
Minister’s stance
Last week, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said puncha sowing would commence in Kuttanad by the end of October. However, with fields remaining inundated, submerged motor pump sets not repaired, and reconstruction of outer bunds and embankments damaged in floods yet to begin, it is likely the crop calendar will fall behind schedule at least in some areas.
“The July floods destroyed 70 outer bunds in Kuttanad. Although most of them had been restored, the second deluge ravaged the entire region. We need to reconstruct 50 more outer bunds and embankments of at least 500 paddy fields in Kuttanad before preparing the fields for the puncha season. A lot of funds will be needed,” says Principal Agriculture officer Beena Natesh.
Ms. Natesh said padashekara samithis would be provided seeds and financial assistance for reconstructing outber bunds and repairing damaged pump sets.