NAGAPATTINAM : A week has passed since rains stopped, but the sorrow continues for farmers as they are unable to harvest paddy because of labour shortage. Harvesters are of no help as the crops are inclined and not suited for machine harvest.
Non-availablity of Cauvery water and the unexpected failure of NE monsoon turned both Kuruvai and Samba season into a disaster. Despite the vagaries of nature, a section farmers who had access to groundwater took up samba crop. When the crop was ready for harvest came unprecedented rains that left 90 per cent of the 40, 000 acre of cultivation inundated.
As farmers scrambled to drain the water from fields, it took more time for harvest to begin. Now, when the crops are somewhat drier they are finding it very difficult to harvest using machines as the crop is in a inclined position. Those ready to employ manual labour are not able to get enough hands for the job.
Arupathi Kalyanam, general secretary of Cauvery Delta Districts Farmers Assoiation, said, “Because the crops are inclined, the reaping arms of harvester machines cannot cut them. Even if we try, the crop get stuck between the cutter causing more delay. Under normal circumstances, the time required for a machine to harvest an acre is one hour, but now it takes up to three hours. As a result, farmers have to pay more money as rent which is not affordable.”
Further, he said the lack of workers for manual harvest is hurting them. “The prosperity of farm workers is directly linked to the well-being of farmers. But now the farmer himself is in a state of distress, forcing the unemployed and low-paid workers to migrate to urban areas in search of other work. Most of the women who used to be engaged in farming work have moved to MGNEREGA” Kalyanam added.
Meanwhile, S Elangovan, vice president of the State unit of All India Rural Farm Labourers Association, said, “The earlier generation of farmers preferred to employ manual labour for harvesting and the workers were also willing. The present generation of workers is uninterested to carry on with such a low-paying profession. While, land owners pay machine owners up to Rs 1, 500 per hour as rent, farm labourers are paid Rs 150 per day.”