RAMANATHAPURAM: Unseasonal rain continues to give sleepless nights for the farmers of Ramanathapuram, one of the largest paddy cultivators in the state with around 1.39 lakh hectares of cultivated area. While many have started carrying out harvest works, few continue to remain idle in the hope that the rain will recede soon. Some farmers have also begun to place their harvested paddy on the roads, in a bid to reduce its moisture content through sunlight exposure.
According to official sources, paddy cultivation in 2023 has been the highest in recent decades in the district. In 2022, almost 70% of the crops were withered due to the drought in December. Whereas, this season, sporadic rainfall in December inundated crops in most of the areas. Official reports stated that more than 9,000 hectares of paddy were submerged in excessive water.
"The enumeration process revealed that about 6,500 hectares of area suffered 33% crop loss in 2023, whereas harvesting works have begun in the remaining 1.32 lakh hectares. At present, as many as eight harvester machines have been brought to Ramanathapuram to assist the farmers. Strict orders have also been issued to private harvester operators against charging higher prices other than the rates fixed by the government," said an agriculture department official.
Further, the civil supplies department stated that out of the 100 proposed direct purchase centres (DPCs), the civil supplies department has opened about 70 others for procuring Samba paddy, with a target to procure 1 lakh tonnes of paddy this year. Around 10 storage units in the district have also been identified to keep the procured paddy, sources said.
On the contrary, M Ravi, a farmer from Thiruvadanai, said, "Though the crops are harvest-ready, unseasonal rainfall has heavily affected the harvest. As the fields are filled with rainwater, we had to opt for track harvester machines, which cost twice as much as the wheel harvester machines (`3,000). Moreover, the rain has increased the moisture content on the paddy greatly, and we had to depute workers to spread it in the roads for drying it in the few hours of sunlight." While some farmers are pinning their hopes on the sun, some are waiting for the water to drain off, he added.