Area under paddy cultivation falls in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The area under rice cultivation (wetland) in the State fell to 1.94 lakh hectares in 2021-22, a decrease of 3.9% compared to 2020-21, the Economic Review 2022 published on Thursday said.

Production and productivity of rice declined to 5.59 lakh tonnes and 2,884 kg per hectare respectively, registering a decrease of 10.7% and 7.1% compared to 2020-21, the review said, citing Department of Economics and Statistics data.

Rice constituted roughly 7.69% of the total cultivated area in the State in 2021-22. In the past years, the highest area under paddy was recorded in 2020-21 (2.02 lakh hectares with a production of 6.27 lakh tonnes).

‘’The steady increase in production and productivity noticed from 2017-18 declined in 2021-22. Season-wise data of rice reveal that the area under virippu (autumn) and mundakan (winter) has declined, while that of punja (summer) crop has increased in 2021-22 over the previous year,’‘ the Economic Review said.

The production and productivity of rice showed a decline in all the three seasons. As against the previous two years, the highest productivity was recorded in the mundakan season with 3,066 kg per hectare.