On the quiet banks of the Pampa river at Thakazhi in Alappuzha district, a modest, weathered building buzzes with activity. In the heart of Kuttanad, a wetland ecosystem historically popular as Kerala’s rice bowl and spread across Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts, a group of seasoned paddy farmers have gathered to collect paddy seeds, offered free of charge by the government, for the upcoming puncha (summer/crop-II, November-April) season. The farmers, following their regular preparations, ready themselves for another season in the ever-challenging world of paddy cultivation.
“These days, there is no guarantee of recovering the money spent on paddy cultivation, let alone making a profit,” says Mathew Thomas, a veteran paddy farmer, as he loads sacks of paddy seeds into a vehicle.
Thomas cultivated paddy on 5.5 acres during the last puncha season but incurred significant losses which led him to skip farming in the subsequent crop season (crop-I, May-October). “Poor rainfall and intense heat affected the crop. The average yield I got was only one tonne per acre, far below the 2-2.5 tonnes I used to harvest from an acre during normal puncha seasons. A yield of more than 1.5 tonnes per acre is essential just to cover the production cost,” Thomas explains.
Santhosh K., another farmer, says his average yield was 700 kg per acre. “There was a time when a family could make a living by cultivating paddy, but that is no longer possible. Paddy farming is becoming increasingly unprofitable. Why do I still cultivate paddy? The answer is sheer passion,” says Santhosh.
A few hundred metres from the seed distribution centre lies the 320-acre Aivelikkad paddy polder situated below sea level between the Pampa and Manimala rivers and accessible only by boat. After skipping the recent crop cycle (crop-I), the polder, where 144 farmers cultivate paddy, is filled with water in preparation for the puncha season.
“It was the first time in recent history that we completely abandoned paddy cultivation in the additional (crop-I) season, having suffered huge losses in the puncha season due to poor yield,” says Chackappan Antony, president, Aivelikkad paddy polder.
According to him, the majority of farmers at Aivelikkad harvested less than 1.5 tonnes per acre in the puncha season. He says that a yield of one tonne per acre fetches ₹28,200, while the cost of cultivating one acre of paddy is around ₹35,000 [the cost of paddy farming is higher in this region due to its geographical peculiarities]. “We hope that nature will be kinder this season,” Antony says.
While paddy farmers across the Kuttanad region and other parts of Kerala have similar stories to share about the last puncha season, the issues in the sector go beyond it. Problems in the paddy sector, driven by a complex interplay of factors, are raising alarm bells. If searing heat was the issue during the puncha season, recent years have seen washouts due to recurring floods. Issues in paddy procurement, long delays in receiving the procurement price, and high labour costs are some of the main challenges adding to farmers’ troubles.
As per the data provided by the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco), the designated agency for paddy procurement in the State under the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, paddy procurement dropped by 23.5% in Kerala, falling to 5.59 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 from 7.31 lakh tonnes in 2022-23.
But this data may not be entirely reliable, as there have been allegations in the past that farmers in the Palakkad region, bordering Tamil Nadu, brought paddy from the neighbouring State to avail themselves of Supplyco’s better procurement offer, due to the lower cost of production there. The absence of this practice could also have contributed to the decline in procurement figures, according to experts.
In 2023-24, Supplyco managed to procure only 1.54 lakh tonnes of paddy during crop-I and 4.05 lakh tonnes in crop-II compared to 2.27 lakh tonnes in crop-I and 5.04 lakh tonnes in crop-II the previous year. In 2021-22, the agency procured 7.48 lakh tonnes when combining both crop seasons.
In Palakkad, the leading rice-producing district in the State, procurement fell to 1.83 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 from 2.92 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. Alappuzha, the second-highest paddy-producing district, saw a reduction from 1.69 lakh tonnes to 1.60 lakh tonnes over the same period.
Alongside the decline in procurement, the season witnessed a decrease in paddy acreage and the number of farmers. In 2022-23, Supplyco procured paddy from 2.5 lakh farmers who cultivated it in 1.82 lakh hectares (ha). This dropped to around two lakh farmers who cultivated the crop in 1.71 lakh ha a year after.
According to the Economic Review-2023 by the Kerala State Planning Board, rice production in the State reported a slight increase from 5.59 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 to 5.93 lakh tonnes in 2022-23, even as the area under cultivation declined from 1.94 lakh ha to 1.90 lakh ha over the same period. The report also notes that in 2020-21, rice production in the State was 6.27 lakh tonnes with 2.02 lakh ha under cultivation. It further highlights that from 8.75 lakh ha in 1970-71, the area under paddy cultivation in Kerala dropped to 1.90 lakh hectares in 2022-23. “All the districts, except Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Kottayam recorded a decline in area under paddy in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22,” the report notes. The latest data are awaited as the Economic Review 2024 has not been published yet.
Experts and farmers attribute the declining paddy cultivation, especially the poor yield in the last puncha season, to various factors, including climate vagaries. M. Surendran, Professor and Head, M.S. Swaminathan Rice Research Station, Moncompu, says climate change is becoming a major threat to paddy cultivation. “Each year, the mean minimum temperature is rising, leading to an increase in the average maximum temperature. In general, the ideal average minimum temperature for paddy flowering used to be between 16°C and 20 °C in the morning. However, in January and February 2024, the average minimum temperature was between 23.5°C and 25°C. This increased daily mean average temperature affected flowering, fertilisation, and yield,” Surendran notes.
As per the data from the research station, the region received only 76.1 mm of rainfall in December 2023, compared to 168 mm during the same period a year earlier. Rainfall in January 2024 was just 6.5 mm, with no rain at all in February. “The lack of rainfall led to increased heat, which raised soil acidity levels and impacted the crop. It is crucial to receive adequate rainfall between 30 and 60 days after sowing to keep acidity in check. Though the region recorded 76.1 mm of rainfall in December, it did not help because most sowed late. Farmers need to adhere to the crop calendar and suitable variety to better manage the changing climatic conditions,” Surendran says.
Around 9 km from Thakazhi lies Edathua in Kuttanad. Farmers at the 200-acre Vadakara Edassery Varambinakam paddy polder are hard at work, many with their feet stuck in the mud as they prepare the fields for the puncha season. More than a month ago, the polder was harvested using combine harvesters. As the yield from crop-I was below expectations, a look of disappointment was writ large on the farmers’ faces. “In the last puncha season, we got an average yield of 1.75 tonnes per acre. However, in the additional (crop-I) season, the yield fell below one tonne,” says Cyriac Jose, secretary, Vadakara Edassery Varabinakam.
Apart from low yield, farmers are frustrated with the government’s “flawed” procurement policy, which often leads to delays in the procurement of harvested paddy and payments, as well as its reluctance to increase the paddy procurement price. Farmers of Vadakara Edassery Varambinakam are disappointed that they are yet to receive payments for the paddy procured in October.
Paddy farmers in the State receive procurement amounts from banks as post-harvest credit upon presenting the paddy receipt sheet issued by Supplyco. The government later reimburses these amounts with interest to the banks. Though this system was designed to prevent delays in receiving both the Central and State government shares, farmers have experienced significant delays in getting payments in recent years.
“Stricter State-specific procurement policies and delays in payment for the procured produce have been deterring factors for a good number of farmers, forcing them to opt for private markets, even when the farm harvest price is much lower than the procurement price,” notes P. Indiradevi, Professor and Director of Research (Retired), Kerala Agricultural University. According to her, the procurement system can be made more efficient and effective through the involvement of cooperative institutions.
Farmers preparing fields for paddy farming (puncha/crop-II) at Thakazhi in Kuttanad, Alappuzha.
| Photo Credit:
SURESH ALLEPPEY
In the case of procurement price, it has remained unchanged at ₹28.20 a kg since 2022-23. In 2021-22, Supplyco procured paddy from farmers across the State at ₹28 a kg, including the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹19.40 provided by the Union government and ₹8.60 as the State’s share. The following year, when the Centre raised the MSP by ₹1 to ₹20.40, the State increased the overall price by only 20 paise to ₹28.20, reducing its contribution to ₹7.80.
In 2023-24, the Centre further increased the MSP by ₹1.43, but the State offset this by lowering its share by the same amount, keeping the procurement price unchanged. The Centre again raised the MSP by ₹1.17 to ₹23 in June this year, but there has been no corresponding increase from the State yet. The State government began reducing its share in 2021-22, cutting it by a total of ₹2.43 between then and 2023-24. If it decides not to raise the procurement price in 2024-25, the State’s share will drop to ₹5.20.
While the authorities claim that paddy farmers in the State receive better prices than in other States, farmers note that high production costs and unpredictable weather conditions make paddy farming a loss-making venture. Soneychen Pulinkunnu, general secretary, Nel Karshaka Samrakshana Samiti, says if the State government had not reduced its share in recent years, paddy farmers would now be receiving over ₹32 a kg.
“According to Supplyco data, paddy procurement stood at 5.59 lakh tonnes in 2023-24. When converted to rice, this amounts to less than four lakh tonnes. The government spends crores purchasing rice from the open market, cultivated in other States, to meet the demand. Yet it is not committed to promoting agriculture. Thousands of hectares of farmland lie idle across the State and available data indicate that over one lakh people have quit farming in recent years,” argues Pulinkunnu.
An expert committee led by retired IAS officer V.K. Baby submitted its report on improving the paddy procurement system as part of a proposed revamp in the State, several months ago, but the government is yet to act on its recommendations. Though the government has not officially released the report, it reportedly contains several suggestions to make the paddy procurement process more transparent and end irregularities.
Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, in response to a question in the Assembly recently, stated that steps had been initiated to procure paddy from farmers and transfer payments to their accounts without delay in the 2024-25 season. “The Agriculture department is providing full support to paddy farmers and working to prevent a reduction in the area under paddy cultivation in the State. The department strives to ensure maximum production by providing high-quality, high-yield paddy seeds and offering technical guidance for adopting scientific cultivation methods,” the Minister had said in a written reply in the Assembly.
Even as the government attempts to increase paddy production, the rice-loving State is set to continue to depend on other States to meet its annual demand of around 40 lakh tonnes of rice for the foreseeable future.
Published – November 14, 2024 08:11 pm IST