Samba cultivation area crosses 1.28 lakhs hectares

RAMANATHAPURAM: The Samba acreage witnessed a slight drop from 1.3 lakh hectares to 1.28 lakh hectares this year owing to decreased rainfall in some regions. However, the acreage is higher when compared to the normal cultivation area, which is about 1.25 lakh hectares. More than 50% of the area under cultivation has been registered under the crop insurance scheme in the district.    

The district is one of the largest paddy cultivators in the State and relies solely on rainfall for irrigation. Speaking to TNIE, Kanniah, a senior official from the agricultural department, said the lack of rain in some areas made farmers hesitant to start paddy cultivation. "Following the monsoon onset in November, more farmers are likely to start the Samba cultivation in the district which will increase the acreage by around 5000 - 7000 hectares," he added.

Pointing out that the traditional paddy cultivation remains less than 2% (1500 hectares) of the total area, Kanniah said more farmers are interested in Samba cultivation, opting for fine varieties like Co51, NLR, and RNR than the bold varieties. "The agricultural department is trying to promote traditional paddy cultivation to make the crop resistant to calamities and diseases," he said.

A farmer from the district, Bakkiyanathan said," The lack of a proper platform for selling the traditional paddy is one of the major problems. The government should consider procuring traditional paddy at profitable prices to generate interest in farmers to cultivate paddy in the traditional way."

Another farmer, Veeramani, said the online portal of the PM crop insurance scheme faced server issues recently. "The last date for the insurance registration is dead ahead. The agriculture department should take action towards resolving such issues sooner, as farmers are concerned," he added. Responding to the issue, Kannaiah said the server issues were fixed then. "The crop insurance target for Ramanathapuram this year is set as 2.76 lakhs acre in which about 1.11 lakhs acre Samba paddy crops have been registered. Farmers at large are showing interest towards enrolling their crops under the PM insurance scheme," he added.