THANJAVUR: A significant number of farmers faced double whammy as the little paddy they could salvage from the inundated fields started sprouting when they kept them at the Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) for sale.
Though the samba, thalady paddy was cultivated in around 1.37 lakh hectares in Thanjavur district, the crops in major areas were affected due to the rains during Burevi cyclone and unseasonal rains during first half of January.
The farmers who harvested the early samba paddy, which fell to the ground due to the Burevi cyclone, found the yield was drastically reduced to 15 bags each of 60 kg per acre where they used to get more than 30 bags per acre.
The farmers who harvested this reduced quantity of the paddy brought it to DPCs situated in places like Kattur, Sadayarkoil, Ponnappur, Madigai and kept them nearby for sales in heaps. As the moisture content of the paddy was more than 20% due to rains, the officials reportedly refused to buy and wanted farmers to dry them before sales.
As there were continuous rains, the farmers could not dry the paddy. Worse, a significant quantity of paddy kept in heaps started sprouting, thereby becoming unfit for sale. A Karikalan, a farmer from Ponnappur whose paddy lodged on the field, deployed a chain type harvesting machine.