NAGAPATTINAM: Reflecting a critical agricultural crisis in the state, kuruvai paddy harvest in Nagapattinam district will plummet by 96% this year. Official forecasts indicate that paddy procurement will drop to a mere 5,000 metric tonnes this year compared to 1.30 lakh metric tonnes last year. Nagapattinam is part of the delta region, which is collectively called the ‘rice bowl of Tamil Nadu’.
Hit by lack of Cauvery water for irrigation due to the delay in the opening of Mettur Dam, the overall kuruvai cultivation area in the district had fallen from nearly 30,000 hectares last year to just 1,720 hectares this year. Weak rainfall and saline groundwater have also affected cultivation area and output.
Owing to the expected decline in harvest, the number of Direct Procurement Centres (DPC) has also witnessed a drop in the district. Only 12 DPCs will be opened for kuruvai paddy procurement this year compared to more than 120 DPCs last year, official sources said. Six DPCs have already been opened and 270 metric tonnes has been procured so far, sources added. The procurement season will run from September to December, depending on the demand from farmers.
It may be noted that Nagapattinam depends largely on Cauvery irrigation for cultivation as groundwater in many parts of the district is either inadequate or too saline. Only a few pockets with access to usable groundwater managed to raise the crop this season. Official sources said Tirumarugal block accounts for almost all of the 1,720 ha under kuruvai this year, as it is the only block with adequate groundwater resource.
Farmers unsure about taking up samba cultivation
Nagapattinam, Kilvelur and Thalainayar blocks have reported cultivation only in a few land parcels.
Although farmers began cultivation using the available water, they reported crop damage and decline in yield due to prolonged intense summer and drop in water availability over time. K Ramesh, a farmer from Tirumarugal block, said the yield from four acres of land had fallen sharply.
“In a good yield year like last season, I got around 170 bags of paddy, each weighing 62 kg. But this year, from the same four acres, I harvested only about 47 bags. Even the yet-to-be-harvested grains dried up and turned completely brown in the plant.
This is a huge loss for me,” he said, adding that farmers elsewhere too were facing a similar situation. A Nedumaran, another farmer from Tirumarugal, said three acres of his kuruvai crop had completely withered. “Out of the five acres sown, kuruvai crop in three acres withered due to intense heat and scanty rainfall,” he said.
With Cauvery water yet to reach the district, farmers are also uncertain about taking up samba cultivation. SR Tamilselvan of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Protection Association said the Cauvery water released from the Mettur Dam was yet to reach Nagapattinam.
“The amount (nearly 12,000 cusecs) of water currently being released from the dam is not adequate. For the water to reach here and for us to take up samba cultivation, at least 22,000 cusecs should be released every day,” he added.