Kerala: Agriculture flood damage touches Rs 6,281 crore

KOCHI: Kerala floods generated Rs 2,723 crore in crop damages and Rs 3,558 crore in crop loss in the agricultural sector stated the Kerala Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (Floods and Landslides) August 2018 report. It was jointly prepared by the state government, World Bank, UN, Asian Development Bank & European Union. According to report, the recovery needs – in terms of agricultural crops – alone adds up to Rs 4,194 crore.
Various farmer organizations are complaining that it will take a few years for the community to recover from this huge loss. Further, the decline in price of certain agricultural commodities is also hurting them.
“Though cardamom has reached a record high price, farmers are not benefitting much as they don’t have enough quantity to sell,” said general secretary of Spices Planters’ Association (SPA) MM Lambodharan.

“The previous crop season of cardamom (from June 2018-March 2019) saw a severe decline in production – compared to the previous year; most of the places had only one third of the crop. The worst-affected places were Vandanmedu, Anavilasam, Sasthanada, Kattappana, Nedumkandam, Chinnakanal, Santhanpara and Udumbanchola,” he said.
Bison Valley, Rajakkad and Senapathy were the only panchayats where the situation was relatively better, Lambodharan said. “These areas saw a decline of 50% in production, during the season that ended now,”he said.
A total recovery from flood damages is almost impossible for farmers in high ranges, added Lambodharan. “Within four years, cardamom farmers might be able to return to their previous condition and productivity levels, but for pepper farmers it is a different story. It is difficult to replant a pepper farm and even if we do, the productivity will be less and pepper vines will wither away soon,” he said.
Cardamom and pepper farmers are also worried about the outcome of the next crop season, as there was deficiency in rain after floods. “For the past seven months, we haven’t got much rains and it is going to affect the next crop too,” Lambodharan said.
General secretary of Kerala Farmers’ Federation Joshy Joseph Manniparambil said rubber farmers were finding it hard to survive with the decline in prices. “Rubber prices are staying at the level of Rs 125/kg, while the cost of production is much higher. According to a recent study by Rubber Board, rubber farmers might not be able to survive if prices are below Rs 175/kg,” he said.