RAMANATHAPURAM: Unseasonal rainfall has become a cause of concern for farmers in the district, as fungal disease has affected chilli crop on nearly 1,000 hectares here. In light of this, farmers urged the state government to distribute compensation to start cultivation.
Chilli crop, including samba and mundu varieties, are cultivated on 11,500 hectares in Ramanathapuram, largely in rain-fed areas such as Kamudhi, Kadaladi, Mudukulathur, Thirupullani and Paramakudi.
After the unseasonal rainfall in December 2024 led to inundation on over 9,200 hectares in the district, chilli cultivation was affected. Now, before farmers could recover from losses, the rain in March has again affected the new crop.
M Ramanujam, a mundu chilli farmer from Mudukulathur, said, “Hundreds of hectares of chilli crops have gone to waste due to the rainfall in December. After clearing the spoiled crops from the fields, we planted new saplings in January to proceed with the cultivation.
But just before the harvest stage, the unseasonal rainfall in March created humidity issues, leading to fungal infection. All crops have been affected by fungal issues. A harvest at this time would have got us nearly `1 lakh, but with the available chilli now, we will hardly get `25,000. This is much lesser than our spending on cultivation works.”
Farmers have also alleged that many are yet to receive compensation for crops damaged in December. A senior official from the horticulture department said, “Over 1,000 hectares have been damaged in the district.” The official also said action has been taken to initiate the distribution of compensation.