MADURAI: With the kuruva paddy cultivation picking up pace in the district, farmers are facing a hard time finding agricultural labourers for work, including removing weeds and planting seedlings. Experts have opined use of various machinery would help the farmers overcome the shortage of farmhands.
As adequate water is available for irrigation for the second consecutive year now, a good number of farmers have begun kuruva cultivation works in Madurai. According to the agriculture department, kuruva paddy cultivation was taken up in only 2,500 hectares in the district previously. However, the figure had jumped to 9,700 hectares in 2021.
T Vivekanandan, Joint Director of Agriculture, Madurai said, "Paddy cultivation is now underway in a total of 6,000 hectares in Madurai district. Another 1000 hectares of acreage in areas, including Alanganallur, Vadipatti and also some parts in Madurai south and west taluks, will join the list soon. More farmers are expected to begin cultivation works next month. This year too, the cultivation acreage in all likelihood will cross the 9,000-hectare mark."
Especially during the commencement of cultivation, land owners would need the support of farmhands for transplanting paddy saplings and removing weeds. Mullai Periyar Farmers Association functionary M Raman said, "The situation is not ideal now. Since there is an acute scarcity of agricultural labourers, the cultivation works are getting delayed," he added.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr M Ramasubramanian, programme coordinator of the ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Madurai, said, "Though the harvester machine is widely used, farmers in Madurai don't extensively use machinery for plantation and weeding works. More farmers should utilize the machinery as it is more efficient and cost-effective."
"They should also adopt the 'drum seeding method', wherein paddy seeds are directly sown at regular intervals on the field. This method also cuts down the planting expenses by Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000, as it relieves farmers from the tasks of finding workers, nursery or transplantation. Using machines for removing weeds would also bring down the cultivation expenses by Rs 10,000-Rs 12,000," he said.
He added that the KVK, Madurai is planning to conduct a special awareness programme among the farmers to stress the usage of machines for cultivation.