KANNIYAKUMARI: Farmers in parts of Thovalai taluk have incurred losses of around Rs 5,000 per acre as the north-east monsoon rains prevented them from collecting hay from their paddy fields after harvesting.
While the harvest of Kannipoo paddy has been completed in most fields in Thovalai taluk, harvesting is still under way in some places, including Thittuvilai and Arasankuzhi. Though the northeast monsoon rains began in early October, a section of farmers could not collect hay from their fields after harvesting. Even though rainfall has receded over the past two days, farmers have been unable to gather the hay.
G Arul, a farmer from Arasankuzhi, said on Thursday that he had cultivated paddy on leased land but due to the recent rains he could not collect hay from some fields where harvesting had been completed. This had resulted in a loss of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per acre.
P Chenbagasekarapillai, president of the Ananthanar Channel Water Users Association (first phase), said harvesting was over in around 90% of the paddy fields, and farmers had begun preparing for the Kumbapoo paddy cultivation.
Chenbagasekarapillai noted that harvesting was still under way in some fields in Thittuvilai, Kadukkarai and Arasankuzhi. Here too farmers could not collect the hay, while paddy crops in some fields were also damaged in the rains.
S Lakshmanan, a cattle-rearing farmer, said that last year, they had collected hay worth Rs 5,000 per acre during the harvest and stored it to feed their cattle. However, the stored hay would suffice for only the next two months, he added.