Increase paddy moisture limit for good: Delta ryots

TIRUCHY: As the traditional pattern of monsoon has been changing year by year in addition to the unseasonal rainfall, the expectations of a decent samba harvest in the region have been shattered.

This has resulted in farmers demanding higher moisture limits and have continued to claim a permanent Government Order (GO) with 22 per cent moisture condition from the existing 17 per cent. They had also apprised of the requirement to the central team that visited the Delta region for inspection of moisture conditions.

Although the actual period of the northeast monsoon ends around December 15, the season has extended around two weeks for the past few years.

According to official information, the northeast monsoon overstayed till January for the sixth time in a row.

As per data, in 2018, the monsoon extended until January 2 while in 2019, it lasted till January 10. In 2020, it extended until January 19; in 2021, the monsoon ended on January 22; and in 2022, the monsoon withdrew on January 12 and the same situation prevailed in 2023 and 2024 as the monsoon extended till the third week of January against the tradition.

Though the farmers were informed about the extended period of monsoon which was until January, most of the farmers were sticking to the traditional formula of monsoon calculations and thus, they had to face the severity of the unseasonal rainfall.

As a result, in most places in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts, the samba crop that was on the verge of harvest and farmers anxious that the rain could get them substantial were disappointed as most places were inundated thereby damaging the harvest-ripe crops.

According to sources, in Nagapattinam around 30,000-acre samba and thalady were damaged due to the unseasonal downpour while in Mayiladuthurai around 25,000 acres, in Tiruvarur around 30,000 acres and Thanjavur around 25,000 acres crops ready for harvest were also damaged.

“The crop was in good condition and we were expecting a near-normal harvest in most places. It is heart-rending that the rain had hit the crop at this stage while in many places fungal diseases too affected the crops and thus the samba had 50 per cent yield loss. For instance, 30 bag yield per acre had been reduced to 15 bags. Farmers are bearing the brunt of climate change and nothing more. In many places, the desilt works were not properly undertaken due to which the water could not drain from the fields resulting in the damage of crops,” said Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

“Farmers have spent at least Rs 35,000 per acre and we have been demanding proper assessment and relaxation of the moisture limit to 22 per cent as sticking to traditional 17 per cent might not be possible. Above all we need crop insurance, monitored by dedicated officials,” said VR Muruganandam, farmer from Vairaperumalpatti in Thanjavur.

Cultivators of Andhra ponni depend on DPCs as traders

fail to show interestTiruchy: Since Andhra ponni variety’s price had declined more than the usual cost provided by the traders, the Delta farmers have been depending on the government-run DPCs for profitable pricing so that they could compensate for the production cost.

The Delta farmers prefer to cultivate PPD 5204 fine varieties of Andhra ponni on par with samba and thalady. Since the early samba varieties that were cultivated during November and December had been damaged due to the uncertain rainfall and so the paddy in the flowering stage had been damaged.

This apart, the hot sun and the misty weather prompted fungal infection and so the crops were damaged even in the early stage which remarkably affected the yield. Since the yield was estimated to be 18 bags against the usual 30 bags and so the traders had shown hesitation in procuring Andhra ponni.

“Last year, the on-time Andhra ponni was procured at Rs 1,750 per 60 bags of rice but now the fine variety is procured at Rs 1,600. Still, the traders show the least interest in procuring the variety. So we depend on Government DPCs which gives Rs 300 less,” said R Palanivel, a farmer from Pappanadu in Thanjavur.

Palanivel said that in the current year, the fine variety has been sold between Rs 1,300 and 1,350 per 60 kg of bag to the DPCs.

“The fine variety culture ADT 39 and ADT 42 are also not procured by private players,” Palanivel said.

Officials said that since the fine variety paddy has a good harvest in Andhra, Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal, the procurement for the variety in Tamil Nadu has declined. Since the paddy was also damaged due to various factors including fungal infection and uncertain rainfall, the procurement was stopped in Tamil Nadu for Andhra Ponni.

“Usually, the price of fine varieties would go up when there used to be less harvest. Since there was a lower yield, the traders did not show interest and so the farmers had faced a severe loss,” an official from the agriculture department said. However, the farmers are dependent on the government for crop damage compensation.

Owners of harvest units make hay due to shortage

of machines with agri deptThe private owners of the harvester machines are making hay during the season due to a shortage in the number of machines available with the agricultural department.

With the private machines being provided at a high rent, the Delta farmers have appealed to reduce the rental price so that they could afford to utilise the machines.

After the unpredicted rainfall in the Delta region during November and December, the early samba cultivated across the region were damaged.

While the yield for the early samba and thalady were affected, the farmers who commenced the harvest in December and January were struggling as the rent for harvesters or harvesting machines has gone high. The rent has been fixed at Rs 1,160 per hour for the tyre variety harvester while Rs 1,880 is fixed for the belt variety harvester.

However, farmers from the region complained that there is no adequate number of harvester machines in the Agriculture Engineering Department.Hence most of the farmers are dependent on private players who collect exorbitant rent.

“During the kuruvai season, the private players collected Rs 2,800 for harvesters. But now, it has been fixed between Rs 3,000 and 3,200. This might go up to Rs 4,000,” said Swamimalai Vimalnathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

Vimalnathan also said, due to slush conditions in the field, the harvest consumes more time and the farmers have to bear the cost.

“Many harvester machines are brought from other districts and other states by private players and it is time, the respective district administration should monitor the situation and help the farmers,” Vimalnathan stressed.

He also stressed that there was a tripartite meeting on the fixation of rental for harvesters but still, the officials could not curb the menace of private players.